FDIG-insured financial institutions earned a record $29.4 billion in the 2003 first quarter, surpassing their previous quarterly record by more than $2 billion.
"Should the economic recovery strengthen in the second half of the year, prospects for industry earnings will remain positive," said FDIC Chief Economist Richard Brown. "Commercial loan performance improved again for the second straight quarter and this is a trend that should continue in the foreseeable future."
The FDIC said lower expenses for bad loans were a key factor in the industry's earnings improvement. Provisions for loan losses were $2.2 billion (19.9%) lower than a year ago. Another source of earnings …
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