City National Posts 22% Profit Increase

City National Corp. said third-quarter profit rose 22% to $34.2 million, or 70 cents a share, on higher loan growth, helped by acquisitions and a robust economy. The Beverly Hills-based bank’s results exceeded by 2 cents the average estimate of 68 cents a share from analysts surveyed by First Call/Thomson Financial. City National also said it has picked up business from larger rival Bank of America Corp., which has cut its work force by about 14% since being acquired by NationsBank Corp. in 1998. City National primarily serves Southern California, but in February bought San Francisco-based Pacific Bank to expand into Northern California. The stock closed off 81 cents at $32.44 on the NYSE.