A dramatic decrease in the provision for loan losses caused Westfield Financial Inc.’s net income to more than double in the third quarter.

The holding company for Westfield Bank reported net income of $1.5 million for the quarter ended Sept. 30, more than doubling the $699,000 in net income for the same period in 2010.

For the nine months ended Sept. 30, net income was $4.3 million, a significant increase from $1.7 million during the same period in 2010.

The increase in earnings was mainly the result of a $3.9 million decrease in the provision for loan losses to $15,000 for the three months ended Sept. 30, compared to $3.9 million for the same period in 2010. The provision for loan losses decreased $8 million to $529,000 for the nine months ended Sept. 30, compared to $8.5 million in the same period in 2010. The decreases in the provision for loan losses occurred because the 2010 periods included the reserve for and subsequent charge-off of $7.2 million on a single commercial real estate loan.