Credit losses and the discontinuation of its wholesale mortgage business could mean a $62.4 million charge against Webster Bank‘s fourth quarter earnings.
The bank announced today that a preliminary report for its fourth quarter earnings includes $40 million allowance for credit losses for the discontinued indirect residential construction and home equity loan portfolios. The company also announced $22.4 million in charges related to the discontinuation of its national wholesale mortgage businesses.
Webster chairman and CEO James C. Smith said in a statement that Webster has “identified, segregated and reserved against estimated losses” and that he is looking to the future “with confidence in our strategy and our earnings potential.”
The fourth quarter 2007 earnings conference call for Webster Bank has been scheduled for Jan. 24 and will include further details on the company’s plan for an earnings optimization program slated to begin this month.
