NEW YORK – MBNA Corp. on Wednesday said its first-quarter earnings climbed 17 percent, propelled by a hefty jump in loans.

The Wilmington, Del.-based bank holding company posted net income of $432.5 million, or 33 cents a share, compared with $369.9 million, or 28 cents a share, in the prior first quarter.

MBNA’s latest earnings beat analysts’ expectations of 31 cents a share, according to a Thomson First Call survey.

Managed revenue, which assumes its securitized loans haven’t been sold, were up 14 percent to $3.44 billion. Securitization is the process of creating a tradable security backed by assets with a reliable cash flow.

Net interest income was up 8 percent at $2.45 billion, while fee income rose 31 percent to $991 million.

Loan receivables were $27.4 billion, up $4.6 billion from the prior first quarter, while total managed loans were $106.1 billion, up 11 percent.

Managed net credit losses, or losses from uncollectable loans, rose to 5.47 percent of total loans. That compares with 5.04 percent in the fourth quarter and 5 percent in the prior first quarter.

Within its credit-card loan portfolio, managed net credit losses increased to 5.10 percent, compared with 4.72 percent in the fourth quarter and 4.74 percent in the prior first quarter.

Meanwhile, losses within the company’s $12 billion consumer portfolio climbed to 7.92 percent, compared with 7.15 percent in the fourth quarter and 6.64 percent in the previous first quarter.

MBNA employs more than 4,000 people in Maine. Shares ended the day at $18.99, up $1.15, on the New York Stock Exchange.