First Fed to Reduce Loan-Loss Provision

First Fed Financial Corp. said it expects to cut its provision for loan losses about 45% in 1998 as the Southern California real estate market continues to recover. California’s seventh-largest thrift expects to add from $10.5 million to $12.5 million to reserves next year, a level it described as normal, compared with an expected provision of about $21 million in 1997, Chief Operating Officer James Giraldin said. The improvement was not as great as one analyst expected. Jefferies & Co.’s Charlotte Chamberlain had projected a provision of about $8 million in 1998, based on a high level of recoveries on loans previously written off. Santa Monica-based First Fed specializes in loans to owners of apartment buildings in the Los Angeles area. The thrift has assets of about $4.1 billion.