WASHINGTON, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Thursday insured U.S. banks posted a 22.6 percent gain in second-quarter profits over the same period of 2012.
The 6,940 banks with deposits insured by the FDIC posted an aggregate net income of $42.2 billion April through June, up from $34.4 billion in the same quarter of 2012, the agency said.
Earnings increased at 53.8 percent of FDIC-insured banks in the quarter, while the percentage of banks that did not make a profit dropped to 8.2 percent compared with 11.3 percent in the second quarter of 2012.
The second quarter was the 16th consecutive quarter in which earnings rose over the same quarter of the previous year, the FDIC said.
"The trends we have seen in recent quarters continued in the second quarter. Asset quality continues to recover, loan balances are trending up, fewer institutions are unprofitable, the number of problem banks is down, and the number of failures is significantly below levels of a year ago," FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg said in a statement.
Gruenberg noted revenues growth has been sluggish, "reflecting narrow margins and modest loan growth."
The FDIC said the quality of loans held by banks had improved, with banks and thrifts writing off $14.2 billion in bad loans during the quarter, down 30.7 percent or $6.3 billion from the same quarter of 2012.
The value of loans with payments 90 days or more past due dropped 8.3 percent, by $21.7 billion, in the second quarter, as the percentage of loans and leases that were not current on payments dell to 3.09 percent, the lowest level since the final quarter of 2008.
