Eight of the nation's 17 major banks released their fiscal 1999 midterm earnings reports Friday in which all posted both pretax and after-tax profits at the end of September.
The results were a striking contrast to the dire results at the end of fiscal 1998 when most major banks registered huge losses due to bad-loan disposals.
This time, many banks were helped by widened spreads between lending rates and fundraising rates, as well as by improved profitability as a result of their cost-cutting efforts, according to the reports.
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