Golden West Reports Record EPS

Golden West Financial Corp., Oakland, Calif., has reported net earnings of $260.1 million ($1.67 per share) for the first quarter, up from $238.1 million ($1.51 per share) a year earlier.The earnings per share represented a record high for Golden West. Mortgage loan originations also reached a record high, totaling $6.9 billion, up 28% from $5.4 billion in the first quarter of 2002. "Expanding the mortgage portfolio, which is our major earning asset, is always a key contributor to growth in profits," said Herbert Sandler, Golden West's chairman and chief executive officer. "Fueled by record originations, our loan balances increased 19% during the past 12 months." Golden West's primary spread -- the difference between the yield received on loans (and other earning assets) and the rate paid on savings and borrowings -- averaged 2.97% in the first quarter, down from the record high of 3.12% a year earlier, the company said. Golden West, the parent of World Savings Bank, can be found on the Web at http://www.gdw.com.