A period of low and volatile thrift earnings followed immediately after the interest-rate shock of 1979.

Year	Annual Return on Assets, FSLIC-Insured Thrift Institutions
1970	0.51%
1971	0.63%
1972	0.71%
1973	0.72%
1974	0.52%
1975	0.44%
1976	0.59%
1977	0.71%
1978	0.77%
1979	0.64%
1980	0.13%
1981	-0.71%
1982	-0.62%
1983	0.24%
1984	0.10%
1985	0.35%
1986	0.01%
1987	-0.54%

Source: FHLBB, "Information for Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, April 1988.