The parent company of Hartford, Connecticut-based United Bank reported strong profits in the first quarter of 2018, but is planning to take a more conservative approach for the rest of the year due to compressed credit spreads and a lower margin.

The company, which also has a large presence in Western Massachusetts, reported net income of $15.8 million, or $0.31 per diluted share, for the quarter ended March 31, compared to net income of $13.7 million, or $0.27 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2017.

“I am pleased to report 15 percent year-over-year earnings per diluted share growth, along with 10 percent growth in total deposits and 9 percent growth in non-interest bearing deposits, total tangible book value plus dividend returns, and loans year-over-year,” William H.W. Crawford IV, CEO and president of the company, said in a statement. “Asset quality, capital, and liquidity remain strong and stable.”

Total assets grew over $370 million year-over-year, reaching $7.068 billion. Total deposits reached $5.82 billion, up over $420 million year-over-year. Total loans reached $5.38 billion, up nearly $440 million year-over-year.

United Bank CFO Eric Newell said one of the biggest surprises the bank saw in terms of loans was the compression of spreads in commercial real estate from 180 to 200 basis points down to 150 to 160 basis points over the index rate. Crawford said the bank is seeing higher loan payoffs than anticipated due to more customers selling commercial real estate properties.

Net interest income for the quarter was $46.5 million, up over $2 million year-over-year, but down slightly from the linked quarter. The net interest margin lost eight basis points from the linked quarter and 11 basis points year-over-year, settling at 2.9 percent.

United executives attributed this fall to a higher cost of deposits and deposit pressure in their market, which also prompted the bank to reverse its strategy.

“Given the current environment we are pulling back on previously planned investment and expense growth,” said Crawford on a recent earnings call. “Overall, we are taking a more conservative path to our financial improvement targets.”

Those goals have not changed and include the bank hitting high single-digit earnings-per-share growth, as well as 1 percent return on assets.

The bank’s strategy will now focus on lower loan growth, lower margin and lower expenses, which means slowing the anticipated build of personnel and deferring certain projects.

The bank does, however, plan to continue building deposits. It just opened a branch in Hartford and has plans to open two more branches, one in Greenwich and another in a location that has yet to be announced.