BOK Financial’s BOKF third-quarter 2018 earnings per share of $1.79 outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.77. Further, the bottom line compared favorably with $1.31 in the prior-year quarter.Results benefited from improvement in revenues driven by rising rates and increase in loan balances. Further, operating expenses declined. However, a rise in credit cost and decline in deposits were the undermining factors. This along with broader markets decline were perhaps the reasons why the company’s shares fell 5.2%.Net income attributable to common shareholders came in at $117.3 million compared with $85.6 million reported in the year-ago quarter.Revenues Increase and Costs FallRevenues came in at $408.8 million, up 6.4% year over year. Also, the top line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $403.1 million. Net interest revenues came in at $240.9 million, up 10.3% year over year. Net interest margin also expanded 20 basis points to 3.21%.Fees and commissions revenues were $167.5 million, up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Higher fiduciary and asset management revenues, and other revenues were the primary drivers for the improvement.Total other operating expenses were $252.6 million, down 1.3% year over year. The fall was mainly due to lower personnel costs and mortgage banking costs.Efficiency ratio improved to 61.41% from 65.92% in the year-ago period. Generally, a lower ratio indicates improved profitability.Loans Improve, Deposits FallTotal loans as of Sep 30, 2018, were $18.3 billion, up 1.9% from the prior quarter. The increase indicated continued growth in commercial and commercial real estate loans.As of the same date, total deposits amounted to $21.6 billion, down 2.4% sequentially. The main reasons for the decline were fall in demand deposit, interest-bearing transaction account and time deposit balances.Credit Quality: A Mixed BagProvisions for credit losses was $4 million compared with no provisions in the prior-year quarter.The combined allowance for credit losses was 1.16% of outstanding loans as of Sep 30, 2018, down from 1.47% in the year-ago period. Additionally, non-performing assets totaled $260.9 million or 1.42% of outstanding loans and repossessed assets as of Sep 30, 2018, down from $327.6 million or 1.90% in the prior-year period.Strong Capital PositionAs of Sep 30, 2018, the common equity Tier 1 capital ratio was 12.07%, up from 11.90% as of Sep 30, 2017. Total capital ratio as on Sep 30, 2018, was 13.37%, down from 13.47% as of Sep 30, 2017.Leverage ratio was 9.90% compared with 9.30% as of Sep 30, 2017.Our ViewpointBOK Financial’s consistent revenue growth and rise in loan balances keep us optimistic. The company’s diverse revenue mix, inorganic growth strategy and favorable geographic footprint are likely to keep supporting growth in the upcoming quarters.Nevertheless, escalating expenses are expected to hamper bottom-line growth to an extent. Also, unsustainability of capital deployment activities remains a near-term headwind for the company.BOK Financial Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise BOK Financial Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | BOK Financial Corporation QuoteBOK Financial currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Performances of Other BanksDriven by top-line strength, Synovus Financial SNV pulled off a positive earnings surprise of 3.3% in third-quarter 2018. Adjusted earnings of 95 cents per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 92 cents.People's United Financial Inc. PBCT delivered a negative earnings surprise of 2.9% in third-quarter 2018. Net earnings of 33 cents per share lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny.Citizens Financial Group CFG delivered a positive earnings surprise of 3.3% in third-quarter 2018, riding on higher revenues. Adjusted earnings per share of 93 cents topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 90 cents.Looking for Stocks with Skyrocketing Upside?Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana. Ignited by new referendums and legislation, this industry is expected to blast from an already robust $6.7 billion to $20.2 billion in 2021. Early investors stand to make a killing, but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look. See the pot trades we're targeting>>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 Synovus Financial Corp. (SNV): Free Stock Analysis Report BOK Financial Corporation (BOKF): Free Stock Analysis Report People's United Financial, Inc. (PBCT): Free Stock Analysis Report Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (CFG): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here.