BankAmerica Earns $54 Million

BankAmerica Corp., slowly climbing back to profitability, today reported third-quarter earnings of $54 million, which Chairman A. W. Clausen said reflected improvement in its loan portfolio and operating efficiency.

Earnings for the quarter were up from a net loss of $23 million in the same period last year and reduced the corporation’s loss for the first nine months to just over $1 billion.