New York Times
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
The number of banks on the U.S. government's list of financial institutions most at risk for failure fell for the second consecutive quarter, according to data released Tuesday by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., signaling that the troubles for most U.S. banks may be easing even as Europe's problems grow worse.
Twenty-one lenders came off the list of so-called problem banks during the third quarter, compared with 23 in the previous period. That brings the total number of troubled banks to 844, or roughly one of every nine lenders.
Although the nation's 7,436 banks registered a nearly 50 percent jump in profit during the third quarter, to $35.3 billion, revenue growth was extremely weak. The bulk of the gains — more than 80 percent — came from the banks setting less money aside to cover loan losses.
Banks ...