	national westminster bank usa st qtr net rises national westminster bank usa said higher loans and core deposit volumes as well as a substantial increase in net interest income contributed to a pct rise in first quarter ings to mln dlrs from mln reported a year earlier the ings gain came despite a mln dlr reduction of income as a result of placing brazilian loans on non accrual net interest income totalled mln dlrs compared with mln dlrs in the same period as loans mostly to middle market businesses increased by mln dlrs but some of these gains were offset by low levels of interest rates provision for loan losses rose to mln dlrs from mln a year earlier at march the allowance for loan losses was mln dlrs versus mln at end of march non accrual loans rose to mln dlrs from mln at the end of the first quarter of largely because mln dlrs of loans to brazil were put on non accrual status the bank said that if these loans remain on non accrual for the remainder of the year net income for would be reduced by about mln dlrs national westminster bank usa is a wholly owned subsidiary of national westminster bank plc reuter 
