Pacific & Western Credit Corp. Thursday reported a narrower loss for its third quarter ended July 31.

Net loss for the quarter was $3 million, or 22¢ a share, compared to a net loss of $4.2 million, or 31¢ a share for the same period last year.

The London, Ont.-based company said “Net income and net interest income continue to be impacted by a compression of spreads resulting from declines in interest rates and challenging economic conditions.”

Mortgages and loans increased to $996 million during the quarter from $949 million a year ago.

The company said its subsidiary Pacific & Western Bank of Canada continued to benefit from a recovery in value of its preferred share portfolio during the quarter, increasing its total regulatory capital from
$121.8 million at the end of the previous quarter to $127.8 million.

This boosted the bank’s total risk-based capital
ratio from 12.81% to 13.42%.

At July 31, total assets were $1.6 billion compared to $1.4 billion a year ago and $1.6 billion at the end of the previous quarter.

Lending assets were $996 million at the end of the quarter compared to $949 million a year ago.

Credit quality remained strong with a ratio of gross impaired loans as a percentage of assets of 0.70% at the end of the quarter compared to 0.55% a year ago.

IE