NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Jan. 17, 2013--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services today said its ratings on U.S. Bancorp (USB; A+/Stable/A-1) are unaffected by the company's strong fourth-quarter results, which were in line with our expectations, given the current operating conditions. Relative to the fourth quarter of 2011, adjusted revenue increased 5.7% to $5.06 billion, reflecting higher earning assets and strong mortgage banking revenues. Results include an $80 million charge from the recent mortgage-related regulatory settlement. USB's net interest margin (NIM) compressed 5 basis points (bps) to 3.55%. We expect the NIM to remain pressured into 2013 because of continued investments in low-yielding securities and the roll-off of higher-yielding securities. Still, net interest income should benefit from ongoing loan growth.
