Wells Fargo & Co. reported record third-quarter and year-to-date net income, according to its earnings report released today. (See the full report)

Its record $3.2 billion in profits for the third quarter is up 98 percent from last year, and its year-to-date profit of $9.5 billion is up 75 percent compared with a year ago. The company earned 56 cents per share in the quarter, which is up 14 percent from last year. That beat Wall Street estimates by 20 cents a share, according to a CNNMoney.com report.

“Third-quarter results again illustrated the company`s ability to profitably grow, even through the downward cycle despite elevated credit losses,” said Chief Financial Officer Howard Atkins in the earnings report.

According to CNNMoney.com, Pick-A-Pay loans, which were loans made by Wachovia Corp. that allowed customers to pay less than the full interest payment on new mortgages, had been a trouble spot for Wells Fargo. The company said, however that losses tied to those loans would be less than expected.

Atkins also said the company will realize its objective of $5 billion in run-rate savings when the integration of Wells Fargo and Wachovia is complete in 2011, and expects to spend $2.4 billion less in merger and integration expenses.

President and CEO John Stumpf praised the merger with Wachovia of one year ago and said it is “exceeding our expectations.”

“Structurally, the merger leaves us with an even more diversified business than legacy Wells Fargo alone — less geographic concentration, an even wider array of products and services, better balance between consumer and commercial businesses, and an equal split between spread income and fee income,” Atkins said.