Meta Financial Group Inc. reported net income for the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30 of $44.9 million, or $4.83 per share, a 35 percent increase from $33.2 million, or $3.91 per share, the previous year. At the end of the fourth quarter, average assets were $4 billion, up from $3.2 billion in the year-ago quarter. Total loans receivable, minus loan losses, increased 43 percent to $398.4 million for the fiscal year, driven by a 38 percent increase in commercial real estate loans to $162.6 million, a 339 percent increase in consumer loans to $125.9 million, driven primarily by the purchase of a student loan portfolio, and a 46 percent increase in premium finance loans to $78.9 million. Residential mortgages grew 21 percent to $34.4 million, and commercial operating loans were up 14 percent to $4.5 million. Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Meta Financial Group is the parent of MetaBank, which has four locations in Greater Des Moines.