American Savings Bank’s net income rose 2.7 percent in the first quarter amid strong loan growth and a $2 million after-tax gain on the sale of its municipal bond securites portfolio.

The state’s third-largest bank said Wednesday it had earnings of $14.5 million compared with $14.2 million in the year-earlier quarter.

Loans and leases rose 9.1 percent to $4.1 billion from $3.8 billion.

“The sale of our municipal bond holdings accelerated some income into the first quarter as we repositioned our investment portfolio due to recent interagency guidance on liquidity standards and the likelihood of higher interest rates over time,” American Savings President and CEO Rich Wacker said in a statement.

Parent company Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. plans to announce its quarterly results on May 7.

HEI’s stock fell 48 cents, or 2 percent, to $23.99 Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange.