Interest Rate Roundup

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

FDIC QBP: Earnings down, "problem" institutions up, charge-off rate at 17-year high and more

The FDIC just released its latest Quarterly Banking Profile (PDF link), or QBP report. This is a comprehensive report that provides a wealth of data about the health of the banking industry. Some highlights (or lowlights, as the case may be; emphasis added by m):

* Insured commercial banks and savings institutions reported net income of $5.0 billion for the second quarter of 2008. This is the second-lowest quarterly total since 1991 and is $31.8 billion (86.5 percent) less than the industry earned in the second quarter of 2007. Higher loan-loss provisions were the most significant factor in the earnings decline.

* Loss provisions totaled $50.2 billion, more than four times the $11.4 billion quarterly total of a year ago. Second-quarter provisions absorbed almost one-third (31.9 percent) of the industry’s net operating revenue (net interest income plus total noninterest income), the highest proportion since the third quarter of 1989.

* Loan losses registered a sizable jump in the second quarter, as loss rates on real estate loans increased sharply at many large lenders. Net charge-offs of loans and leases totaled $26.4 billion in the second quarter, almost triple the $8.9 billion that was charged off in the second quarter of 2007. The annualized net charge-off rate in the second quarter was 1.32 percent, compared to 0.49 percent a year earlier. This is the highest quarterly charge-off rate for the industry since the fourth quarter of 1991.

* Net chargeoffs increased year-over-year for all major loan categories in the second quarter. Charge-offs of 1-4 family residential mortgage loans increased by $5.8 billion (821.9 percent), while charge-offs of real estate construction and land development loans rose by $3.2 billion (1,226.6 percent). Net charge-offs of home equity loans were $2.8 billion (632.7 percent) higher than a year earlier, charge-offs of loans to commercial and industrial (C&I) borrowers were up by $1.8 billion (127.5 percent), credit card charge-offs increased by $1.7 billion (47.4 percent), and charge-offs of other loans to individuals grew by $1.4 billion (70.3 percent).

* The amount of loans and leases that were noncurrent (90 days or more past due or in nonaccrual status) rose for a ninth consecutive quarter, increasing by $26.7 billion (19.6 percent). This is the second-largest quarterly increase in noncurrent loans during the nine-quarter streak, after the $27.0-billion increase in the fourth quarter of 2007 when quarterly net charge-offs were $10 billion lower.

* All major loan categories registered increased levels of noncurrent loans in the second quarter. The amount of 1-4 family residential real estate loans that were noncurrent increased by $11.7 billion (21.2 percent) during the quarter, while noncurrent real estate construction and land development loans rose by $8.2 billion (27.2 percent). Large increases were also reported in loans secured by nonfarm nonresidential real estate properties (up $2.0 billion, or 19.6 percent), C&I loans (up $1.8 billion, or 15.0 percent), and home equity loans (up $1.7 billion, or 25.5 percent). At the end of June, the percentage of the industry’s total loans and leases that were noncurrent stood at 2.04 percent, the highest level since the third quarter of 1993.

* For the third consecutive quarter, insured institutions added almost twice as much in loan-loss provisions to their reserves for losses as they charged-off for bad loans. Provisions exceeded charge-offs by $23.8 billion in the second quarter, and industry reserves rose by $23.1 billion (19.1 percent). The industry’s ratio of reserves to total loans and leases increased from 1.52 percent to 1.80 percent, its highest level since the middle of 1996. However, for the ninth consecutive quarter, increases in noncurrent loans surpassed growth in reserves, and the industry’s “coverage ratio” fell very slightly, from 88.9 cents in reserves for every $1.00 in noncurrent loans, to 88.5 cents, a 15-year low for the ratio.

* A majority of institutions (60.0 percent) reported declines in their total risk-based capital ratios during the quarter. More than half (50.9 percent) of the 4,056 institutions that paid dividends in the second quarter of 2007 reported smaller dividend payments in the second quarter of 2008, including 673 institutions that paid no quarterly dividend. Dividend payments in the second quarter totaled $17.7 billion, less than half the $40.9 billion insured institutions paid a year earlier. Even with reduced dividend payments, fewer than half of all institutions (45.5 percent) reported higher levels of retained earnings compared to a year ago.

* Two insured institutions failed during the quarter, bringing the total for the first six months of 2008 to four failures. Three mutually owned savings banks, with combined assets of $1.1 billion, converted to stock ownership in the second quarter. The number of institutions on the FDIC’s “Problem List” increased from 90 to 117 during the quarter. Assets of “problem” institutions increased from $26.3 billion to $78.3 billion.

* The Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) decreased by 11.7 percent ($7.6 billion) during the second quarter to $45,217 million (unaudited). Accrued assessment income added $640 million to the DIF during the second quarter. The fund received $1.6 billion from unrealized gains on available for sale securities and took in $395 million from interest on securities and other revenue, net of operating expenses. The reduction in DIF came primarily from $10.2 billion in additional provisions for insurance losses. These included provisions for failures that have occurred so far in the third quarter.

The DIF’s reserve ratio equaled 1.01 percent on June 30, 2008, 18 basis points lower than the previous quarter and 20 basis points lower than June 30 of last year. This was the lowest reserve ratio since March 31, 1995, when the reserve ratio for a combined BIF and SAIF stood at 0.98 percent.

1 Comments:

  • should we throw in towel? every time we are on brink, something gets revised, lied about, rumored about, bandied about, fanagled, intervened with , . etc etc etc. The saying "the market can remain irrational longer than I can remain solvent. The game is not fair. How can we win again cheaters? There ought to be a law about rumors that are nothing more. Well they look into the ones that are not in their favor.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at August 28, 2008 at 10:23 AM  

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