WATERBURY, Conn. – Webster Financial Corp. (NYSE: WBS), the parent of Webster Bank N.A., Thursday posted a third-quarter net loss of $19.24 million due in part to a provision for credit losses that was almost $40 million more than the year-ago period.

The bank had recorded a $16.52 million net loss in the 2008 third quarter.

In the most recent three-month period, Webster’s loss per diluted share totaled 39 cents, worse than the 25 cent per share loss forecast by a consensus of analysts who cover the bank, according to Yahoo! Finance.

Webster recorded $230.40 million in interest and non-interest revenue for the third quarter, down 13.36 percent from the year-ago period’s $265.94 million.

The bank touted its growth in deposits in the third quarter, which jumped $426 million to $13.6 billion between June 30 and Sept. 30. Executives also noted that net interest margin improved from 3.04 to 3.18 percent quarter over quarter, although it still fell below the 2008 third quarter margin of 3.32 percent.

Private equity firm Warburg Pincus also recently finalized its $115 million investment in Webster Financial Corp., which includes the purchase of newly issued common stock at $10 a share, as well as buying non-voting, preferred shares and warrants.

“Capital levels continue to improve and are well in excess of all regulatory requirement,” James C. Smith, chairman and CEO of Webster Financial, said in a statement. “Earnings before credit provisions increased by 10 percent, and deposit and deposit market share are on the rise. We saw significant improvement in the net interest margin, loan delinquencies were flat for the third consecutive quarter and overall performance was solid considering the challenging environment.”

The third quarter’s $85 million loan-loss provision represented an 86.81 percent increase over the bank’s provisions of $45.5 million in the 2008 third quarter. The bank had also set aside $85 million in the 2009 second quarter.

Meanwhile, total non-performing loans rose again to $340.66 million – an increase of $16.09 million, or 4.96 percent – from $324.57 million at June 30.

Webster Financial Corp. (NYSE: WBS) – a $13.2 billion company based in Waterbury, Conn. – is the holding company for Webster Bank N.A., a financial services company with more than 180 branches, including 10 branches in Rhode Island. Additional information is available at www.WebsterOnline.com.