UBPR: How to Read the FFIEC Uniform Bank Performance Report
The UBPR is the FFIEC's quarterly ratio, trend and peer-percentile report on every FDIC-insured bank, built from its call report. Any bank's UBPR is free from the Central Data Repository.
The Uniform Bank Performance Report (UBPR) is the FFIEC’s quarterly report of ratios, multi-period trends and peer-group percentiles for every FDIC-insured bank, built from the bank’s own call report. Any bank’s UBPR is free from the FFIEC Central Data Repository: open its Institution Reports page, search for the bank, and choose a UBPR report.
On BankRegReports, each bank’s peer group page shows its latest-quarter ratios for profitability, asset quality, capital, liquidity and growth next to the median of the US banks in its asset tier, with the bank’s percentile on each one.
The UBPR in Brief
This guide walks through each major section of the UBPR in the order the report presents them, explains what the ratios mean, and flags where they mislead. Examiners use the UBPR to prepare for examinations; boards, CFOs and analysts use it to benchmark.
The Uniform Bank Performance Report is an analytical tool created by the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) for bank supervisory, examination, and management purposes. It transforms raw call report data into meaningful ratios, trends, and peer comparisons that reveal the true financial health of any FDIC-insured institution in the United States.
Unlike the call report itself, which is a standardized balance sheet and income statement filed quarterly by every bank, the UBPR organizes data into analytical categories that directly address the questions regulators and bank leaders care about most: Is this bank profitable? Is it taking on too much risk? How does it compare to its peers? Is its trajectory improving or deteriorating?
Every ratio and metric in the UBPR is computed from the quarterly call report data that banks file with the FFIEC. The UBPR is updated as new call report data becomes available, giving you up-to-date quarterly analytical capability across the entire U.S. banking system.
UBPR vs. Call Report: What Is the Difference?
A common question from newcomers to banking analytics is how the UBPR differs from the call report. Think of it this way: the call report provides the raw financial data (total loans: $500 million, total deposits: $600 million), while the UBPR converts that raw data into analytical ratios and compares them against peer groups (loan-to-deposit ratio: 83.3%, 65th percentile vs. peers).
The call report tells you what a bank has. The UBPR tells you how well a bank is performing and whether its trajectory is healthy. Both are essential, but the UBPR is where analytical work begins.
The UBPR Page Structure: A Complete Walkthrough
The UBPR is organized into a series of pages, each focusing on a specific area of bank performance. Here is what each page tells you and why it matters.
Summary Ratios (Page 1)
This is your executive dashboard and where every UBPR analysis should start. Page 1 presents the most critical performance ratios across five periods (the current year-to-date, the same period a year earlier, and the three prior year-ends), allowing you to spot trends at a glance.
The key metrics on Page 1 include:
- Return on Average Assets (ROAA): measures how much profit the bank generates from each dollar of assets. For community banks, 1.0% to 1.3% is generally considered strong. Below 0.75% warrants investigation.
- Return on Average Equity (ROAE): shows the return to shareholders. Typical strong performance is 10%–15%.
- Net Interest Margin (NIM): arguably the single most important operating metric for any bank. It measures the spread between interest income and interest expense relative to earning assets.
- Efficiency Ratio: measures noninterest expense as a percentage of total revenue. Lower is better. Community banks in the 55%–65% range are well-managed. Above 75% signals problems.
- Net Charge-Off Ratio: shows actual credit losses as a percentage of average loans. A lagging indicator: by the time charge-offs rise, credit problems have been building for quarters.
When analyzing Page 1, do not just look at the current quarter in isolation. Compare the trend across all five periods. A bank with a declining NIM over four consecutive quarters tells a very different story than one with a single-quarter dip. Then compare against the peer group averages in the right-hand columns. A 3.5% NIM might sound healthy, but if the peer average is 4.1%, it signals a competitive disadvantage in the lending market.
Income Information (Pages 2–3A)
These pages break down exactly where the bank’s revenue comes from and where it goes. Page 2 is the income statement (interest income and expense, provision, and securities gains and losses), Page 3 covers noninterest income and expense, and Page 3A shows asset yields and funding costs.
The most important thing to look for is the composition and quality of income. A bank that relies heavily on noninterest income from service charges may be vulnerable to consumer behavior changes and regulatory fee caps. A bank with a high proportion of income from securities gains may be masking underlying operational weakness with one-time gains.
Pay close attention to the trend in provision expense relative to loan growth. If loans are growing 15% annually but provision expense is flat, the bank may be under-provisioning for the risk it is adding to the balance sheet.
Balance Sheet Composition (Pages 4–7)
These pages reveal the asset and liability mix: Page 4 is the dollar balance sheet and Page 6 its percentage composition. Pay particular attention to the loan portfolio composition on Page 7 (Loan Allowance and Loan Mix): what percentage is commercial real estate versus residential versus consumer versus agricultural? Each category carries different risk characteristics and levels of regulatory scrutiny.
On the liability side, examine the funding mix. A bank heavily dependent on brokered deposits or Federal Home Loan Bank borrowings has a fundamentally different risk profile than one funded primarily by core deposits. Since 2023, funding stability has been under heightened regulatory attention, and the UBPR makes it easy to assess.
Capital Analysis (Page 11)
Capital adequacy is the bedrock of bank safety and soundness. Page 11 shows the bank’s capital ratios (leverage ratio, Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1), Tier 1 risk-based, and total risk-based capital ratios) alongside the regulatory minimums and well-capitalized thresholds.
Beyond just checking whether the bank exceeds minimums, compare the capital trajectory. A bank with declining capital ratios even though they are still above thresholds may be heading toward trouble. Also compare against peers: significantly higher capital ratios than peers might indicate an overly conservative posture limiting shareholder returns, while significantly lower ratios may signal insufficient cushion for future stress.
Liquidity and Funding (Pages 10 and 10A)
This page assesses the bank’s ability to meet its obligations. Key metrics include the net non-core funding dependence ratio, the net loans and leases to deposits ratio, and the pledged securities ratio.
Liquidity management is receiving heightened regulatory attention. A bank with high dependence on non-core funding sources and a large portfolio of unrealized losses on securities faces a fundamentally different liquidity risk profile than one with stable core deposit funding.
Bank Peer Group Analysis in the UBPR
Bank peer group analysis is the UBPR’s most powerful feature. Every ratio in the report sits beside the average for the bank’s peer group and a percentile rank (the PCT column) within that group, so a number you cannot judge alone becomes one you can act on.
How the FFIEC defines UBPR peer groups. A peer group is the set of banks the UBPR compares a bank against. The FFIEC assigns each bank to a numbered peer group by rule; the bank does not choose it. Since February 26, 2026, commercial banks fall into 17 peer groups defined by asset size alone, measured as the bank’s average assets for the quarter. Before that date, groups for smaller banks were also split by number of banking offices and by metropolitan or non-metropolitan location. The largest banks sit in the low-numbered groups and the smallest in the high-numbered ones. Because the boundaries are revised from time to time, a bank can change peer groups without changing at all.
What the peer columns show. For most ratios the UBPR prints three figures: the bank’s value, the peer group average, and the PCT, the bank’s percentile rank within the group from 0 to 99. A PCT of 90 means the bank’s value is higher than 90% of its peers. Read the PCT with the direction of the metric: a high percentile is good for return on assets and bad for the efficiency ratio or the net charge-off rate.
Here is how to use peer group data effectively:
Confirm the peer group first. Check which group the percentile is drawn from before reading a trend, especially across a quarter where the bank grew, shrank or merged. A new peer group means a new comparison set, and percentiles can move even when the bank’s own ratios do not.
Look for outliers. Any metric where the bank falls below the 25th percentile or above the 75th percentile deserves deeper investigation. Low percentile rankings in profitability ratios may indicate operational inefficiency, while high percentile rankings in certain risk metrics may indicate excessive risk-taking.
Consider building custom peer groups. The FFIEC allows you to create custom peer group comparisons through their website. This is particularly useful when the standard peer group does not accurately represent the bank’s competitive market. A $500 million community bank in rural Kansas has very different operating dynamics than a $500 million bank in suburban Chicago, even though they might be in the same standard peer group.
Track peer-relative trends over time. A bank might show improving absolute performance while actually losing ground relative to peers. The UBPR’s percentile rankings across five quarters make this easy to spot.
On BankRegReports, the call report vs. UBPR page explains how the two reports differ, every bank profile has a peer group page that ranks the bank’s ratios against banks of its size, and the bank tiers page groups every US bank by asset size. For a deeper method, see our guide to bank peer group analysis.
10 Red Flags to Watch For in Any UBPR
Experienced analysts develop an eye for warning signs in UBPR data. Here are the most critical red flags that should trigger deeper investigation:
- NIM declining for 3+ consecutive quarters while peers are stable: signals structural problems in the asset-liability mix
- Efficiency ratio above 80% for two or more quarters: the bank spends $0.80+ to earn each dollar of revenue
- Nonperforming assets above 3% of total assets: significant credit quality problems
- Capital ratios declining quarter over quarter: capital is being consumed faster than it is being replenished
- Non-core funding dependence above 30%: heavy reliance on volatile funding sources
- Charge-off ratio significantly above peer average: realized losses exceeding what similarly situated banks experience
- Rapid loan growth (15%+) without proportional capital growth: the bank may be growing faster than its capital can support
- ROAA below 0.50% for multiple quarters: the bank’s business model may not be sustainable
- Pledged securities above 50% of the portfolio: the liquidity buffer is significantly reduced
- Provision expense significantly below peer average: potential under-provisioning that flatters current earnings at the expense of future resilience
No single indicator tells the whole story. Effective analysis combines multiple signals. When three or more red flags appear simultaneously, especially across different categories, the probability of a genuine problem increases dramatically.
How BankRegReports Makes UBPR Analysis Easier
While the FFIEC’s UBPR tool provides the raw data, BankRegReports transforms it into usable analysis. Our platform offers more than 25 years of historical call report and UBPR data with interactive visualizations, custom peer group builders, automated trend analysis, and easy data exports that eliminate the hours of manual work typically required to extract insights from UBPR data.
Whether you are preparing for an examination, building a board presentation, or conducting competitive analysis, BankRegReports gives you the tools to work smarter with the data you already rely on.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does UBPR stand for? UBPR stands for Uniform Bank Performance Report. It is an analytical report created by the FFIEC that transforms raw call report data into ratios, trends, and peer group comparisons for every FDIC-insured bank.
How often is the UBPR updated? The UBPR is updated quarterly as new call report data is filed. Data for the most recent quarter is typically available within 30–45 days of the quarter-end reporting date.
Can I access UBPR data for free? Yes. The FFIEC provides free access to UBPR data through its website. BankRegReports provides enhanced visualization, custom peer groups, and historical data going back to 2001.
What is the difference between the UBPR and a call report? The call report is the raw financial filing submitted by each bank. The UBPR is an analytical report generated from call report data that adds peer comparisons, ratio calculations, and trend analysis.
Who uses UBPR reports? Bank examiners use them for supervisory analysis. Bank executives use them for strategic benchmarking. Compliance officers use them for examination preparation. Consultants and auditors use them for client engagements. Investors and analysts use them for bank research and due diligence.
Where can I get a bank’s UBPR? Every FDIC-insured bank’s UBPR is free from the FFIEC Central Data Repository. Open the Institution Reports page at cdr.ffiec.gov, search for the bank by name, RSSD ID or FDIC certificate number, and choose a UBPR report; each report can be exported to a delimited file. On BankRegReports, the Find a bank’s UBPR box at the top of this guide opens a bank’s ratios against its peers.
How do I find the UBPR for a specific bank? You can search by bank name, city, state, or FDIC certificate number on the FFIEC website or through BankRegReports, which provides a more user-friendly interface with enhanced analytics.