Downey Financial’s 4th-Quarter Net Income Rises 61% Over ’96

Downey Financial Corp., the parent company of Downey Savings & Loan Assn., reported net income for the fourth quarter of $14 million, or 53 cents a share, a 61% gain from the $8.7 million, or 32 cents a share, for the 1996 fourth quarter. Net income for the year more than doubled to $45.2 million, or $1.69 a share, from $20.7 million, or 77 cents a share. The 1996 results included a onetime assessment of $14 million for the Savings Assn. Insurance Fund. Total assets increased 12% to $5.8 billion from $5.2 billion.