IN case you missed on Thursday, Spokane's Sterling Financial Corp. had a good 4Q earnings report.

The company, which operates Sterling Savings Bank, announced it booked net income of $20.9 million, or 33 cents per diluted common share, compared to $30.6 million, or 49 cents per diluted common share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2012, and $14.8 million or 24 cents per diluted common share, for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2011.

For the year Sterling recorded net income of $385.7 million, or $6.14 per diluted common share, compared to $39.1 million, or 63 cents per diluted common share, for the year ended Dec. 31, 2011.

The 2012 annual net income included an income tax benefit of $292 million associated with the release of a deferred tax asset valuation allowance.

Here are some other bullet points, borrowed from TheStreet.com:

• Portfolio loan originations for the quarter were $561.7 million, a 23 percent increase over the prior quarter.
• Income from mortgage banking operations for the year was $96.9 million, up 85 percent over 2011.
• Nonperforming assets to total assets was 2.28 percent, down from 2.73 percent at September 30, 2012, and 4.01 percent at December 31, 2011.
• A total of $40.4 million, or 65 cents per share, was returned to shareholders during the fourth quarter of 2012 through payment of a 15 cent per share regular dividend, a 35 cents per share special dividend and the accelerated payment of the 15 cents regular dividend that would have otherwise been paid during the first quarter of 2013.
• During the fourth quarter, Sterling announced the signing of definitive agreements to acquire American Heritage Holdings and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Borrego Springs Bank of California.

To read the complete story, go to Spokesman.com later Monday evening or read it in Tuesday's printed editions.

Spokane’s Sterling Savings Bank has purchased the Puget Sound operations of publicly traded Boston Private Financial Holdings, Inc.

Boston Private, a national financial services group that owns wealth management and private bank affiliates in Boston, New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, has operated three branches in the Seattle area.

It acquired the branches in Seattle, Bellevue and Redmond in 2007 from financially distressed Charter Bank.

Sterling Savings CFO Patrick Rusnak said the acquisition made sense for both sides; Boston Private felt the branches were too distant from its East Coast offices; and Sterling considers Seattle one of its prime areas for continuing growth.

Sterling currently has 15 branches in the greater Seattle area, including in Bellevue and Redmond, Rusnak said.

One of Sterling Bank’s Seattle branches is in the same building as Boston Private’s, Rusnak said.

Sterling will pay about $96 million, Rusnak said, which covers an $11 million “premium” and the difference between the branches’ total loans and deposits.

The sale is expected to close in the first half of 2013 pending regulatory review.