Mortgage-banking operations owned by banks and thrifts of all sizes reported huge declines in earnings during the third quarter, although some organizations fared significantly better than others, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of call-report data. As a group, banks and thrifts reported net earnings of $4.76 billion on their mortgage-banking activity during the third quarter. That was down 41.7 percent from the second quarter, and it marked the lowest three-month ... [Includes one data chart]