BANKING & FINANCE - Sept. 6, 1996

Thrift Industry Posts Record Earnings: The U.S. thrift industry earned a record $1.89 billion in the second quarter, creating the industry’s best profit margin in 37 years, the Office of Thrift Supervision said. Earnings rose 3% from $1.83 billion in the first quarter, as thrifts reported that their return on assets was the highest since 1959, the OTS said. That compares favorably with the second quarter of last year, when savings and loans posted $1.35 billion in earnings. During the first six months of 1996, thrifts earned $3.72 billion, compared with $2.5 billion in the first half of 1995, the OTS said. Bank regulators credited the strong performance of the U.S. economy for the record earnings. Meanwhile, the number of problem institutions continued to drop. The agency listed only 33 thrifts as troubled in the second quarter, down from 37 in the first quarter and 53 at the end of second-quarter 1995.