Home Savings loses $38.6 million in third quarter

YOUNGSTOWN — The parent company of Home Savings and Loan Co. lost $38.6 million in the third quarter as it tries to regain its financial footing.

The loss stemmed from two accounting charges and affected only the balance sheet, stressed Douglas McKay, chairman and chief executive of United Community Financial Corp. It was not an outlay of cash.

If the accounting charges were stripped away, the Youngstown-based company would have lost $300,000. McKay said the United Community broke even on its normal operations because the quarter also included expenses for consultants and other items required by federal regulators.

United Community, which also owns Butler Wick Corp. in Youngstown, has been under a cease-and-desist order since August. The order requires the company to reduce certain types of risky lending, stop paying dividends and improve its capital reserves.

For more information, see Thursday’s Vindicator or www.vindy.com.