BANKING & FINANCE - Sept. 17, 1993

California Dampens Thrifts’ Earnings: Profits at savings and loan institutions fell 29% in the April-June quarter to $1.3 billion, from $1.8 billion in the first three months of the year, the Office of Thrift Supervision said. It said most of the decline was due to the weak real estate market in California, where thrifts wrote off some loans and lost $30 million during the period. Overall, the second-quarter earnings total for the 153 surviving thrifts was 2.3% higher than that of a year ago.