Of the 3,032 thrifts in the country,...

Of the 3,032 thrifts in the country, 72% were profitable in the first nine months of 1988, but the staggering losses of the unhealthy institutions left the industry with a net loss of $4.5 billion in that period, thrift rating service Sheshunoff & Co. reported. “The remaining 28% or 838 institutions were unprofitable,” said Alex Sheshunoff, founder of the rating service. “Of the unprofitable S&Ls;, 315 were insolvent. Of the insolvent, 91 have been merged or closed by the regulators.” He said the $4.1-billion profit generated by the healthy thrifts was offset by the unprofitable ones, which lost $8.6 billion, creating a net loss of $4.5 billion for the industry.