Mercury Savings & Loan: The Huntington Beach-based...

Mercury Savings & Loan: The Huntington Beach-based institution, restating its 1988 financial results for a second time, said it lost $13.8 million last year. That was nearly double the 1988 loss that it reported two months ago, and a nearly $20-million reversal from the profit it originally announced. Regulators earlier this year forced Mercury to reduce the stated value of some of its assets. Mercury Chairman Leonard Shane said the latest revision was made because of incorrect accounting assumptions about the reporting of profits on the sale of loans. In addition, assumptions used to figure Mercury’s tax liability were incorrect, Shane said. For 1987, Mercury posted earnings of $5.1 million. The company also reported a loss for the first quarter of 1989 of $700,000, contrasted with profit of $1.1 million for the year-earlier period. Revenue for the quarter increased 8% to $61.6 million.