Locally chartered banks and thrifts are lending more, and more banks continue to rid their balance sheets of problem loans.

Total loans for the more than 80 locally chartered banks grew to $22.7 billion, a 5 percent increase from a year earlier, according to third-quarter figures released this week by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. The figures do not include banks that are based outside of the region, such as Bank of America, or brokerages such as St. Louis-based Stifel Financial.

Banks are gradually recovering from the economic crisis, when problem loans dragged down earnings.

Nonperforming loans dropped to $392.8 million in the third quarter, down from $459.3 million a year earlier.

“The health continues to return, and I expect we’ll see that continuing in to 2015 for those banks that have not yet regained their footing,” said Julie Stackhouse, senior vice president of the St. Louis Fed.

Real estate loans, commercial and industrial loans, and consumer loans increased, although some of the lending represents loans from banks based here that operate in other states, such as Clayton-based Enterprise Bank & Trust, which also has branches in Kansas City and Phoenix.

Profits year-to-date through Sept. 30 for all local banks totaled $238 million, compared with $226.4 million for the same time period in 2013. However, a one-time tax gain from Reliance Bank in the first half of the year accounted for a bulk of the increase.

Earnings at many banks are flat, representing a competitive banking landscape where many banks vie for borrowers’ business.

“While there is some loan growth, every bank in St. Louis isn’t getting enough loan growth to add to banks’ profitability,” Stackhouse said. “We don’t have lots of new growth to go around, and the loan growth that is there is competitively priced. There’s not a lot of earnings growth, and that’s frustrating for bankers.”

At First Banks, the holding company for the region’s largest locally chartered bank, First Bank, loans grew to $2.98 billion, up from $2.8 billion a year earlier, driven by gains in real estate and commercial and industrial lending. The bank has 129 branches California, Florida, Illinois and Missouri.

“In this market, that’s reasonably robust,” said Tim Lathe, president and CEO of First Bank. Effective Feb. 13, Lathe will succeed Terry McCarthy as president and CEO of the bank’s holding company.

First Bank is focused on growing organically by investing in technology and training, Lathe said, adding the bank is putting all of its branch managers through business banking and small business banking certification.

“We want to become the business bank of choice in each of our markets,” he said.