Insights, analysis, and field notes.
Guides on banking data, walkthroughs of FFIEC and UBPR metrics, and commentary on what's moving inside the call report filings.
FR Y-9C vs. Call Report: Reading Holding Company Financials
Pull up JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. on the FFIEC call report and you see a $4.0 trillion institution. Pull up JPMorgan Chase & Co. …
When a Normal LDR Hides Bank Funding Risk
Three large banks failed in 2023 with loan-to-deposit ratios that looked fine on the surface. The ratio was not their problem: their deposit composition …
ROA vs. ROE for Banks: Profitability Ratios Explained
The FDIC reported an aggregate industry ROA of 1.24% for Q4 2025. In that same quarter, dozens of community banks posted ROE well above …
Reading Bank Loss Reserves: Provision, Allowance and Adequacy
In Q1 2020, JPMorgan Chase posted an $8.3 billion provision for credit losses, of which $6.8 billion was a reserve build, up from roughly …
How to Look Up a Bank: FDIC Certificate Number and RSSD ID
There are roughly 3,800 FDIC-insured commercial banks in the United States, and about 4,350 insured institutions in total once savings institutions are included (Q1 …
Why Bank Efficiency Ratios Differ: Peer Context
In 2023 and 2024, the median efficiency ratio for U.S. community banks rose from about 66% to nearly 69%, not because banks got worse …
How to Analyze a Bank's NIM: Drivers and Compression
A bank's margin moves for a handful of reasons, and the call report shows which one is at work. How to split net interest …
Brokered & Uninsured Deposits: A Bank Risk Guide
Not all deposits are equally reliable. Brokered and uninsured deposits can flee a bank in days, as 2023 made painfully clear. Learn what these …
Bank Capital Ratios: The Four Measures and Their Thresholds
Capital is the cushion that stands between a bank and failure. This guide explains the four regulatory capital ratios (CET1, Tier 1 risk-based, total …
The Texas Ratio as a Failure Warning: Origins and Limits
The Texas Ratio is one of the simplest and most reliable early-warning signals for bank failure. Learn what it measures, how to calculate it …