Q3 Results for U.S. Thrift Industry Continue to be Profitable

New data released by the ""Office of Thrift Supervision"":http://www.ots.treas.gov (OTS) revealed another more stable quarter for the thrift industry.

[IMAGE]

Thrifts and banks are similar, but by law thrifts are required to have at least 65 percent of their lending in consumer loans and mortgages, making them even more susceptible to problems in the housing and job markets.

The industry experienced a slump for more than a year from Q4 2007 to Q2 2009, but 2010's third quarter

[COLUMN_BREAK]

results mark the fifth consecutive quarter with more positive results.

Third quarter profits were posted at $1.77 billion, up from $1.49 billion in Q2 and $1.24 billion in the third quarter of 2009.

Not all of the details of the report were positive, however.

The number of problem thrifts came in at 53, a meager decrease from last quarter's 54, and a sizable increase from 2009's third quarter total of 43.

Troubled assets actually increased, and thrift managers added $2.12 billion to loan loss provisions during the quarter, prompting OTS acting director John E. Bowman to say in a press statement that the results were mixed at best.

""The performance of our nation's thrift industry in the third quarter was mixed,"" he said. ""The industry's profitability was encouraging, but other indicators reminded us that economic stresses, particularly from unemployment â€" continued to take a toll.""

At the end of Q3, the OTS had 741 thrifts and 436 holding company enterprises under its supervision.