The parent company of Waterbury, Connecticut-based Webster Bank reported strong profits and growth in the first quarter of 2018, but that didn’t stop investors from pressing executives about the slow down in growth of health savings accounts, a core part of the bank’s business.

The company reported net income of $78.1 million, or $0.85 per diluted share, for the first quarter, compared to $57.3 million, or $0.62 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2017. Consolidated net interest income for the quarter was $214.2 million, compared to $192.7 million for the first quarter of 2017. The margin ticked up 22 basis points year-over-year to 3.44 percent.

“Webster’s first quarter results demonstrate the meaningful progress we are making on the execution of our strategic priorities,” John Ciulla, president and CEO of the company, said in a statement. “Revenue growth, continuing investment, and effective risk management are enabling Webster to produce increasing levels of economic profit.”

Total assets at the $26.8 billion company are up roughly $700 million year-over-year. Total loans at the end of the quarter were $17.8 billion, up about $700 million from the first quarter of 2017, led by year-over-year increases in commercial, residential real estate and commercial real estate loans, while consumer loans decreased.

Total non-interest income for the quarter was $68.7 million, up $5.7 million from one year ago.

While investors were impressed with net interest margin growth, a low efficiency ratio and annual pre-provision net revenue growth that one investor called “remarkable,” they also wanted to know more about the slow down in new HSA accounts.

Webster now has more than 2.6 million HSA accounts. However, new accounts only grew by 335,000 in the first quarter, 36,000 less than the first quarter of the prior year, a trend executives warned about during their 2017 fourth quarter earnings call.

Ciulla on a recent earnings call said the slow down is generally consistent with broader industry trends, while pointing out that the “HSA bank’s cost of deposits have remained flat at 20 basis points, evidencing long term benefits of low-cost loan duration deposits.”

Chad Wilkins, executive vice president of Webster Bank and president of Webster’s HSA Bank, said he still felt good about the bank’s strategy and is certainly not at the point where the bank might consider changing incentives in its HSA package to ramp up growth.

“I really believe we are doing all right the things and seeing the results we want to see, and I believe enrollment rates will catch up,” he said.

Webster executives further said they felt bullish on the bank’s HSA business, considering only 5 percent of HSA accounts are unfunded, compared to an industry average over 20 percent. Only 20 percent of eligible employees currently have HSA accounts and only about half of eligible employers currently offer them, they added.

In the quarter, the company trimmed another 4 percent of its overall square footage. Ciulla said more efficiencies in terms of the bank’s physical presence are possible, but that nothing is currently planned.

Webster also decreased its borrowings and total nonperforming loans were .75 percent of total loans, compared to 1.02 percent at the end of the first quarter of 2017.