CPAs with clients or companies using thrift institutions as depositories can continue to rest easy. Office of Thrift Supervision third-quarter 1993 call report data for the nation's 1,788 savings and loans showed an increase of 7.2% in equity capital to $52.4 billion from $48.9 billion since September 30, 1991. An analysis by Veribanc, Inc. produced a 10.9% gain in the number of thrifts receiving its highest rating. Thrift fortunes improved despite a 20.9% decline in the number of S&Ls in operation and a 16.3% drop in total thrift assets over the two-year period.

Gregory C. Talbott, CPA, vicepresident of Pomona First Federal Savings and Loan, Pomona, California, said the thrift industry should not be given full credit for the increased profitability. "It was a combination of well-run, healthy institutions getting their problems behind them and a very favorable interest rate environment that allowed these institutions to profit from wide yield spreads," he said.

However, there may not be another upswing in thrift finances. …