Banks, Thrifts Earn Record Sum in 2003

U.S. commercial banks and thrifts earned a record $120.6 billion in 2003, up from $105.1 billion in 2002, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said.

In the fourth quarter of 2003, commercial bank and thrift earnings climbed to $31.1 billion from $30.4 billion in the third quarter.

The growth in assets and earnings was dominated by single-family mortgages in the first half of 2003 and credit card and home-equity lending in the second half, FDIC chief economist Rich Brown said.

Also helping to boost earnings was a decline in loan-loss provisions, thanks to improvement in commercial loan portfolios at large banks.

Provisions for loan losses fell 36% in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, the FDIC said.