PNC reports net income of $834 million in third quarter

PITTSBURGH — PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. reported a net income of $834 million during the third quarter, down from $1.1 billion during the same quarter last year.

The diluted earnings per share was $1.55, slightly topping analyst estimates of $1.49, but down from $2.07 during the same quarter last year.

The EPS has risen from $4.24 to $4.79 through the first three quarters of 2011 compared to 2010.

James Rohr, chairman and chief executive officer, said Wednesday that he was pleased with quarter, especially in “an environment with very slow economic growth.”

PNC grew its customer, loan and deposit bases during the third quarter. Its retail banking checking relationships grew by 95,000 during the third quarter.

New client acquisitions rose 10 percent and total deposits grew $5.8 billion.

PNC also reported success with its Virtual Wallet online feature, which debuted earlier this year and grew by about 10,000 customers a week during the third quarter.