The Pittsburgh-based banking giant reported earnings of $4.81 a share, a significant jump from the $3.85 per share recorded during the same period last year. Driving this performance was a 16% increase in net interest income to $4.11 billion and a 31% rise in noninterest income, which reached $2.77 billion. The firm also set aside $191 million for credit losses, a figure that came in well below the $250 million analysts had anticipated.

Following the completion of its $4.1 billion acquisition of FirstBank, PNC absorbed $127 million in integration costs this quarter. The merger has expanded the bank’s national footprint, with 780,000 customers and 95 branches across Colorado and Arizona now integrated into the PNC network. Bolstered by these results and the outcome of the Federal Reserve’s annual stress test, the company raised its quarterly dividend by 18% to $2 a share. Despite a slight dip in its common equity Tier 1 capital ratio to 9.9% from 10.5% a year ago, the bank maintains a stable liquidity position, supported by a 4% increase in average loans to $363.2 billion.