PNC Financial Services Group Inc. announced Thursday morning that it earned $1.01 billion in the fourth quarter, as the company benefited from BlackRock Inc.'s acquisition of Barclays Global Investors.

PNC said it earned $2.17 per share after losing $269 million in the same period a year earlier. The company said it would have earned 90 cents per share excluding a $687 million gain related to the BlackRock acquisition of Barclays Global Investors. PNC is a part owner of the money manager.

The profit and its $5.08 billion in revenue were better than analysts expected, according to Thomson Reuters.

The Pittsburgh-based bank, which has major operations in Indianapolis, said it added more than $1 billion to cover bad loans during the quarter, up 15 percent from the previous three months. But like other banks, it is reporting early signs of improvement in its loan portfolio.

PNC made a major push into central Indiana when it acquired Cleveland-based National City Corp. about a year ago. When the merger was announced, National City was the second largest bank in the Indianapolis area, based on employment and fourth largest by number of branch locations. Seventy-seven of the 172 branches National City operated in Indiana at the time were in the Indianapolis area.

PNC's stock was up 71 cents, at $59.50 per share,  in pre-opening trading.