Nara Bancorp Inc. of Los Angeles reported that its loss more than doubled in the second quarter as a result of significant chargeoffs.
The $3 billion-asset parent company of Nara Bank posted a net loss of $16.9 million, or 45 cents a share, compared with a loss of $7.1 million, or 27 cents a share, a year earlier.
The loss, announced Monday, was nearly five times the first-quarter net loss of $3.6 million.
Nara is charging off loans as it sells $63.3 million in problem assets through August. Chargeoffs totaled $44.7 million in the second quarter, up 112% from the first quarter and 130% from a year earlier.
The company's allowance for loan losses increased by 2% from the first quarter, to nearly $63 million.
The higher-than-expected provision for loan losses and chargeoffs threw off analysts' estimates. Nara's core net loss of 46 cents a share was far below Sandler O'Neill & Partners' estimated net loss of 2 cents a share and the consensus estimate of 8 cents a share.
