Commercial banks and savings institutions insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) reported an aggregate profit of $35.3 billion in the first quarter of 2012, a $6.6 billion improvement from the $28.8 billion in net income the industry reported in the first quarter of 2011, the FDIC reported this morning.

The results mark 11 consecutive quarters of year-over-year earnings. However, loan balances declined by $56.3 billion, or 0.8 percent, after three consecutive quarterly increases. Lower provisions for loan losses and higher noninterest income were responsible for most of the year-over-year improvement in earnings.

First-quarter loss provisions totaled $14.3 billion, nearly one-third less than the $20.9 billion that insured institutions set aside for losses in the first quarter of 2011.

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