Coeur d'Alene-based Idaho Independent Bank, which operates primarily in Southern Idaho, has posted a third-quarter net loss of $1.99 million, or 31 cents a diluted share, compared with net income of $1.64 million, or 25 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter.

For the nine months ended Sept. 30, the bank reported a net loss of $4.7 million, or 75 cents a diluted share, compared with net income of $4.7 million, or 71 cents a share, in the year-earlier period.

"The decrease in earnings for the quarter and nine months ended Sept. 30, 2009, was primarily due to the ongoing effects of the deterioration of the real estate markets within the communities the bank serves, as well as the downturn in the local and national economies," says Jack W. Gustavel, chairman and CEO. "While we cannot control the real estate market or the economy, we try to stay ahead of deteriorating credits and asset values by applying conservative estimates in determining our allowance for loan losses."

Gustavel says the bank added $5.5 million to its allowance for loan losses during the third quarter. As of Sept. 30, the bank's total allowance for loan losses was $18.2 million, or 4.4 percent of total loans.

Idaho Independent's total loans as of Sept. 30 stood at $414.6 million, down 17.6 percent from a year earlier, while total deposits were $428.4 million, down 10.3 percent. The bank's total assets fell 15.7 percent over the past 12 months, to $509.4 million, it says.

Gustavel says the bank remains well above the threshold required to be considered "well-capitalized."

Idaho Independent, which was launched in 1993, operates branches in Coeur d'Alene and Hayden, as well as three in Boise and one each in Meridian, Nampa, Mountain Home, Caldwell, Star, Eagle, and Ketchum, Idaho.