Regional bank Cathay General Bancorp on Thursday reported an 11 percent hike in third-quarter earnings to $34 million (67 cents per share), beating analysts’ predictions of 62 cents, according to a poll conducted by Thomson Financial.

Despite $2.2 million in loan losses, Cathay said that net interest income, the difference between how much it costs a bank to borrow money and how much it receives from lending money, increased 13 percent to $80 million.

The Los Angeles-based bank company also said that boosting commercial loans and mortgages increased its loan portfolio 12 percent to $6.3 billion since the beginning of the year.

But the company threw cold water on the good news, saying that while the quarter was strong, tough times may be ahead.

“While loan growth was strong in all major categories during the third quarter, we expect slower growth in future quarters,” Dunson Cheng, Cathay General’s chief executive said in a statement.

Shares in the Cathay rose 1.8 percent to $28.55 in afternoon trading Thursday on the Nasdaq.