Webster Financial Corp. announced it has completed its $350 million acquisition of a company that administers medical funds from insurance claim settlements.
Webster Financial, the Stamford-based parent company of Webster Bank, has acquired Ametros Financial Corp. from Long Ridge Equity Partners.
Ametros, based in Wilmington, Massachusetts, is the nation’s largest professional administrator of medical insurance claim settlements, according to Webster. It administers funds to thousands of members receiving workers’ compensation and liability settlements.
Webster said the acquisition provides it with a “fast-growing source of low-cost and long-duration deposits,” allowing the bank to diversify its deposit base and noninterest income.
Ametros’ operations will be fully integrated into Webster during the first quarter of 2024, the bank said.
Webster Financial also recently released its fourth-quarter earnings report, which showed the regional lender’s profitability declined during the three-month period.
It reported net income of $181.2 million, or $1.05 per diluted share, for the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared to $240.6 million, or $1.38 per diluted share, in the year-ago period.
Webster Financial said its results were weighed down by $94.7 million in pre-tax charges related to a Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. special assessment, its merger with Sterling Bancorp on January 31, 2022, and securities repositioning.
Excluding those charges, Webster’s adjusted earnings per diluted share would have been $1.46 during the quarter, the bank said.
Revenue for the quarter totaled $634.8 million, while the bank’s deposit base grew nearly 1% from the previous quarter to $60.8 billion.
The bank had $50.7 billion in loans and leases at the end of the quarter, up 1.3% from the prior quarter. The majority (80.7%) were commercial loans and leases, the bank said.
