United Community bank posts wider loss

"We continue our strategy of aggressively disposing of problem credits," Jimmy Tallent, United's CEO, said in a news release. "At the same time, we are sharply focused on offensive strategies to drive shareholder value long-term by increasing core earnings through margin expansion, expense reductions and core deposit growth."

Like many of its peers, United bet heavily on the housing market, especially in metro Atlanta. But the market imploded amid the subprime mortgage meltdown and now suffers from an oversupply of lots and houses.

Over the past five quarters, United has lost $236 million. Despite the losses, the bank remains well capitalized. United recently raised $225.5 million by selling stock. Last year, the bank received $180 million from the federal government's Troubled Asset Relief Program.

During the third quarter, United charged off $90.5 million in bad loans, compared to $58.3 million in the previous quarter. The amount of non-perforning assets increased slightly, to $415 million, or nearly 5 percent of the ban's total loan portfolio.

The news wasn't all negative. United's net interest margin -- the difference between what it costs to bring in deposits and the rates at which loans are made -- increased by 11 basis points in the quarter and 69 basis points so far this year, equivalent to $50 million in earnings.

So-called core earnings -- earnings before taxes and provisions against bad loans -- totaled $31.8 million in the quarter, up $5 million from the second quarter.