Shares of First Horizon National Corporation FHN rallied 5.5% following the release of second-quarter 2021 results. Adjusted earnings per share of 58 cents beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 43 cents. Further, the bottom line shows significant improvement from the prior-year quarter’s 20 cents.Results reflect improved deposit balance, higher revenues and provision benefits, partly offset by higher expenses. Pressure on margin due to low interest rates is a concern.Net income available to common shareholders (GAAP basis) was $295 million or 53 cents per share, up significantly from the $52 million or 20 cents per share recorded in the prior-year quarter.Segment wise, net income for regional banking increased to $276 million. Also, the specialty banking segment reported net income of $134 million, up 42% from the year-ago quarter. Yet, the corporate segment incurred net loss of $100 million.Revenues Improve, Expenses RiseTotal revenues came in at $781 million, up 53% year over year. Further, the top line surpassed the consensus estimate of $766.6 million.Net interest income jumped 63% year on year to $497 million. However, net interest margin shrunk 43 basis points (bps) to 2.47%.Non-interest income came in at $285 million, up 38% from the year-ago level. Increase in all the components except fixed income and deferred compensation income resulted in this uptick. On an adjusted basis, non-interest income soared 62%.Non-interest expenses shot up 55% year over year to $497 million. All expense components witnessed a rise during the quarter. Costs flared up 52% on an adjusted basis.Efficiency ratio came in at 63.67%, up from the year-ago period’s 62.74%. It should be noted that a rise in the efficiency ratio indicates decrease in profitability. Nonetheless, adjusted efficiency ratio was 59.17% compared with the prior-year quarter’s 59.65%.Total period-end loans and leases, net of unearned income, totaled $56.7 billion, down 3% from the prior quarter’s end. Total period-end deposits of $73.3 billion increased marginally from the prior quarter.Credit Quality: A Mixed BagAllowance for loan losses of $815 million increased 52% from the year-ago period’s $538 million. In addition, non-performing loans and leases of $344 million grew 52% from the $226 million recorded in the prior-year period.In addition, as a percentage of period-end loans on an annualized basis, allowance for loan losses was 1.44%, down 20 bps from the previous-year quarter.The second quarter witnessed net recoveries of $10 million, improving from the prior-year quarter’s net charge-offs of $17 million. Moreover, provision for loan losses was a benefit of $115 million against the provision of $121 million seen in the prior-year quarter.Capital Ratios MixedAs of Jun 30, 2021, common Equity Tier 1 ratio was 10.33%, up from the 9.25% reported at the end of the year-earlier quarter. Additionally, total capital ratio was 13.21%, up from the previous-year quarter’s 12.47%. Tier 1 leverage ratio was 8.23%, contracting 32 bps year on year.Our ViewpointFirst Horizon continues to benefit from rising loan and deposit balances. Also, the company’s inorganic expansion efforts support its financials. Nevertheless, mounting expenses and near-zero interest rates are major concerns.First Horizon Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise First Horizon Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | First Horizon Corporation QuoteFirst Horizon currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Performance of Other Major BanksBank of America’s BAC second-quarter 2021 earnings of $1.03 per share handily beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 77 cents. The bottom line compared favorably with 37 cents earned in the prior-year quarter.PNC Financial PNC pulled off a second-quarter 2021 earnings surprise of 42.4% on substantial reserve release. Adjusted earnings per share of $4.50 surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.16.Large reserve releases, solid investment banking performance and modest rise in loan demand drove JPMorgan’s JPM second-quarter 2021 earnings of $3.78 per share. The bottom line comfortably outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.05. 5 Stocks Set to Double Each was hand-picked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2021. Each comes from a different sector and has unique qualities and catalysts that could fuel exceptional growth. Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor. Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Bank of America Corporation (BAC): Free Stock Analysis Report JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM): Free Stock Analysis Report The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc (PNC): Free Stock Analysis Report First Horizon Corporation (FHN): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research