City National Corporation, the US parent company of City National Bank, said yesterday its net income in the fourth quarter of last year rose to $29.1 million from $8.9 million in the same period a year ago.

Last December, the firm bought the banking operations of Imperial Capital Bank, taking over $3.3 billion of assets and $2.1 billion of deposits. Year-end total deposits rose to $17.4 billion, up by 37 per cent on the year.

Last year, the firm strengthened its balance sheet through a trust preferred securities offering. Its ratio of Tier 1 common shareholders’ equity to risk-based assets stood at 8.9 per cent at the end of 2009.