April 12 (Reuters) - U.S. lender Comerica ( CMA ) on

Thursday reported a 57.4% fall in its quarterly profit as higher

deposit costs hurt its interest income from customers.

A high interest rate environment has made it costly for

banks to retain deposits from customers who are increasingly

seeking better returns in higher-yielding alternatives.

Comerica's ( CMA ) net interest income (NII), which is the

difference between interest income from loans and what banks pay

out on deposits, fell nearly 23% to $548 million in the first

quarter compared with the previous year.

Larger rivals Bank of America ( BAC ) and Wells Fargo ( WFC )

also posted similar declines in NII in recent days.

The net interest margin contracted to 2.80%, versus 3.57% a

year ago.

Dallas-based Comerica ( CMA ) continues to expect 11% drop in its

net interest income in 2024.

Its quarterly profit fell to $138 million or 98 cents per

share for the quarter, compared with $324 million or $2.39 per

share in the year-ago period.