American Savings Bank showed loan growth for the 10th consecutive quarter but net income declined 10.8 percent primarily due to lower interest rates and a one-time tax benefit that boosted earnings in the year-earlier period.

The state’s third-largest bank said today it had net income of $14.2 million in the first quarter compared with $15.9 million a year ago that included the release of $1 million in tax-related reserves for positions the company had taken in previous years. Without the benefit, American Savings’ earnings were down about 5 percent.

Total loans grew 6.9 percent to $3.86 billion from $3.79 billion at the end of the fourth quarter, achieving the mid-single digit increase that the bank is targeting for itself this year. 

“We feel pretty good in this extended low interest-rate environment,” American Savings President and CEO Richard Wacker said. “We’ve been able to generate loan growth and other income that’s mostly offset (the lower rates) and keep what I think are very good profitability measures. Our return on assets at 1.12 percent in the quarter compared pretty favorably to our peers.”