ROUNDUP : BankAmerica, USAir Profits Beat Analyst Expectations

BankAmerica Corp.’s third-quarter earnings jumped 29%, as the bank made more loans, raised fees for customers and got a break from lower deposit insurance premiums.

The nation’s second-largest banking company, based in San Francisco, said net income rose to $704 million, or $1.72 a share, from $547 million, or $1.36 a share, a year ago.

The results beat Wall Street expectations of $1.58 a share, based the average estimate of 21 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research.

Net interest income rose 13% in the quarter to $2.16 billion from $1.9 billion, as the bank’s loan portfolio surged, in part because of the acquisition of Continental Bank Corp.

Non-interest income rose 8.4% to $1.16 billion from $1.07 billion, mainly from a jump in fees charged for checking accounts and other services.