Thrift Assets Shrink: Assets at the nation’s...

Thrift Assets Shrink: Assets at the nation’s thrift institutions continued to shrink dramatically in September in preparation for tough new financial standards taking effect next week, the government said. Assets at the nation’s 2,903 thrifts shrank by $15.2 billion, breaking the record decrease set in August of $13.3 billion, the Office of Thrift Supervision said. Meanwhile, a net of $8.9 billion in deposits was withdrawn from thrifts, the most since February.