U.S. Bancorp Q4 profit jumps on fee business 

U.S. Bancorp , one of a handful of U.S. regional banks that has expanded during the financial crisis, said fourth-quarter profit nearly doubled, helped by a rise in fee income. Skip related content

The Minneapolis-based bank reported profit of $602 million (370 million pounds), or 30 cents a share, up from $330 million, or 15 cents a share, a year earlier. Analysts on average expected 29 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

U.S. Bancorp, among the 10 largest U.S. banks, has so far avoided serious loan losses during the credit crisis because of its conservative underwriting standards.

Even as it reported record fourth-quarter revenue of $4.4 billion, up from $3.6 billion a year earlier, Chief Executive Richard Davis sounded cautious.

"Credit costs remain elevated and continued to have a significant impact on earnings," he said in a statement.

The bank set aside $1.39 billion for credit losses in the quarter, up from $1.27 billion a year earlier but lower than the $1.46 billion it put aside in the third quarter.

At a time when other banks are coming under fire for lending less, U.S. Bancorp said it grew its loan portfolio to $191 billion in the quarter, up $14.4 billion from a year ago. The bank also benefited as the difference between the rate it paid on deposits and the rate it earned on loans widened over the year.

Non-interest income -- fees earned from businesses including merchant processing services and investment management -- increased to $2 billion in the fourth quarter from $1.5 billion a year earlier.

Shares of U.S. Bancorp fell 13 cents to $24.49 on Tuesday and were little traded before the market opened on Wednesday. The shares have climbed 8.8 percent since the start of the year.

(Reporting by Elinor Comlay; editing by John Wallace)