Bank One Warns 1st-Quarter Profit May Miss Estimates
CHICAGO -- Bank One Corp., whose credit-card business has been hurt by rising interest rates, warned investors that first-quarter profit would likely fall shy of analysts' projections.</br></br>A First Call/Thomson Financial poll of 14 analysts showed a median estimate of 65 cents a diluted share, with a range of 62 cents to 69 cents. "We would expect and encourage the consensus to settle at the 60-cent level," said Bank One's president and acting chief executive, Verne Istock.</br></br>With about 1.1 billion diluted shares outstanding, 60 cents would equal about $660 million of net income for the quarter ending March 31. A year ago, the banking concern posted net of $1.15 billion, or 88 cents a share.</br></br>The disclosure sent Bank One shares down $1.1875, or 4.5%, to $25 each in New York Stock Exchange composite trading at 4 p.m. Friday.</br></br>Mr. Istock said the first quarter would be the year's weakest. Rates that banks pay for deposits and other funds they lend have risen in recent months. But in the hotly competitive credit-card market, it is difficult to raise loan rates because many borrowers can easily jump to lower-rate cards offered through directmail solicitations.