SAN FRANCISCO -- Faced with continuing credit woes, Firstfed Financial Corp., Santa Monica, Cal., reported a second-quarter loss of $25.6 million, or $2.42 per share, compared with an $8.3 million profit for the comparable period last year.
For the first six months of 1994, Firstfed lost $31.7 million, or $3.01 per share, compared to a net loss of $8.1 million in the first six months of 1993.
The thrift company's latest loss was expected, resulting from a previously announced $55 million loan-loss provision. In the 1993 second quarter, Firstfed added $1.85 million to reserves.
Double Whammy
Firstfed said that $23.1 million of the second-quarter provision was for losses stemming from the January Los Angeles-area earthquake, while $31.9 million reflected the continuing weakness of the Southern California real estate market.
Nonperforming assets were flat, representing 3.03% of total assets at the end of the second quarter. Firstfed's provision boosted the reserve-to-nonperforming-assets ratio to 86%, up from 57% at the end of March.
Firstfed, which has $3.7 billion of assets, was one of the savings industry's top performers until the recent real estate downturn.
Apartment Market Still Down
The thrift is a major multifamily housing lender and has been pounded by the still-slumping Southern California apartment market.
To shore up capital, Firstfed said it is proceeding with plans to issue $50 million in ten-year notes.
The thrift remains above regulatory capital minimums, but it must raise capital to grow in response to healthy demand for adjustable-rate mortgages.
