First Nationwide Posts $20.9-Million Loss

Problems for Ford Motor Co.’s First Nationwide Financial unit continued in the first quarter as the savings and loan company lost $20.9 million after setting aside $66 million to cover problem loans, the company announced Tuesday.

The results for the quarter ended March 31 contrast with profit of $35.9 million that First Nationwide earned a year earlier.

The San Francisco-based company, whose best-known operation is First Nationwide Bank, has been stung mostly by problem loans on apartment buildings in the Northeast.

Its non-performing assets--typically loans 90 days more past due--totaled $1.1 billion as of March 31, up from $900 million at the end of 1990. The amount of money First Nationwide has set aside to deal with problem loans was $451 million on March 31, up from $257 million on March 31, 1990.

The results for the thrift holding company are in sharp contrast with the overall strong performance of Ford’s Financial Services Group, which, besides First Nationwide, includes car financing, credit card and leasing operations. That unit earned a record $271 million in the first quarter, up 42% from a year earlier.

First Nationwide’s loss was announced as part of Ford’s disclosure that it lost $884 million in the first quarter. That loss is a record for the Dearborn, Mich.-based auto maker.