WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. banks' earnings jumped 7.3 percent in the April-June period from a year earlier as revenues increased and the volume of soured loans banks had to write off fell to the lowest level since before the financial crisis.

The data issued Wednesday by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. showed continued improvement for the banking industry seven years after the crisis struck. The number of "problem" banks continued to fall and some big banks had reduced expenses for legal settlements following large amounts paid out previously to resolve crisis-related cases.

The FDIC reported that U.S. banks earned $43 billion in the second quarter, up from $40.1 billion a year earlier.

Nearly 60 percent of banks reported an increase in profit from a year earlier. Only 5.6 percent of banks were unprofitable.