E-Trade Financial Corp.'s third-quarter loss widened on charges related to a vital debt exchange it completed. However, the online broker continued to show signs of improving credit trends.
The New York company said its banking unit's loan-loss provision fell to $347 million, down one-third from a year ago. The decline was the fourth straight quarterly drop in loss provisions at E-Trade, which has been hurt by heavy losses in its bank unit's mortgage portfolio.
Chargeoffs fell to 6.25% of its average loans, from 6.47% in the second quarter, but were up from 4.15% a year earlier. E-Trade's total net chargeoffs, however, widened 25% from a year earlier.
Overall, E-Trade reported a net loss of $822 million, or 66 cents a share, compared with a loss of $143 million, or 22 cents, a year earlier.
