Call Report instructions, explained

Where to find the instructions

Each form has its own page on ffiec.gov with the blank report form, the instruction book, and the supplemental instructions the FFIEC issues each quarter when an item changes:

• FFIEC 031 forms and instructions: banks with foreign offices or $100 billion or more in total assets.
• FFIEC 041 forms and instructions: banks with domestic offices only and under $100 billion in total assets.
• FFIEC 051 forms and instructions: eligible banks with domestic offices only and under $5 billion in total assets.

The FFIEC 031 and 041 share one instruction book; the FFIEC 051 has a separate book with its own General Instructions. The instructions apply to every bank regardless of its primary regulator, so "FDIC call report instructions" and "FFIEC call report instructions" are the same documents.

How the instruction book is organized

The FFIEC 031 and 041 book has four parts:

1. General Instructions: who must report on which form, eligibility for the FFIEC 051, signatures, submission, deadlines, amended reports, retention, and the rules of consolidation.
2. Line item instructions for the Report of Income: Schedule RI, the income statement, and its supporting schedules (RI-A through RI-E).
3. Line item instructions for the Report of Condition: Schedule RC, the balance sheet, and its supporting schedules, from RC-A (cash) through RC-R (regulatory capital) and RC-T (fiduciary activities).
4. Glossary: alphabetical entries on accounting and reporting topics too long for a line item, such as nonaccrual status, troubled loans, and the allowance for credit losses.

Every line item carries an MDRM code, such as RCON2170 for total assets. The call report code pages list each schedule's codes with their definitions, and the code finder maps a plain-English description onto one.

Who must file, and on which form

Every national bank, state member bank, insured state nonmember bank, and savings association files a consolidated Call Report as of the close of business on the last calendar day of each quarter. The form depends on the bank's offices, size, and capital standards:

• FFIEC 031: any bank with a foreign office (an International Banking Facility, a branch or consolidated subsidiary in a foreign country, or a majority-owned Edge or Agreement subsidiary), any advanced approaches institution, and any bank with $100 billion or more in total consolidated assets.
• FFIEC 041: banks with domestic offices only and less than $100 billion in total consolidated assets, other than advanced approaches institutions.
• FFIEC 051: banks with domestic offices only and less than $5 billion in total assets, excluding advanced approaches institutions, banks subject to Category III capital standards, and large or highly complex institutions for deposit insurance purposes.

Size tests use total assets as of June 30, and a change takes effect with the March report of the following year. A bank eligible for the FFIEC 051 may file the FFIEC 041 instead, and its regulator can require the FFIEC 041 for a bank active in trading, derivatives, mortgage banking, or securitization. A bank files the same form for every quarter of a given year.

Credit unions do not file a Call Report with the FFIEC; they file the NCUA 5300. Bank holding companies file the FR Y-9C with the Federal Reserve.

Submission deadlines

The Central Data Repository must receive the completed report no more than 30 calendar days after the report date, with every validity edit passed and an explanation for any quality edit that is not. A bank with more than one foreign office, other than a shell branch or an IBF, has 35 days. The instructions grant no extensions. The current and next quarters:

The full calendar, including when the data becomes public, is on the call report filing schedule.

Signatures

The chief financial officer, or the person performing that function, signs a declaration that the report is correct. Directors other than that officer attest to it: at least three at a national bank, state member bank, or savings association, and at least two at a state nonmember bank.

Submission and Call Report software

Reports go to the FFIEC's Central Data Repository electronically. A bank either prepares and submits the file itself, using software that meets the CDR's technical specifications, or completes a paper report and has a software vendor or other party convert and submit it. Mailing a paper report to the FDIC or a Reserve Bank is not accepted.

The FFIEC lists the vendors whose software has passed CDR testing in each quarter's Financial Institution Letter for the Call Report, and a bank may write its own software and test it directly with the CDR. Either way, the instructions leave responsibility for accuracy with the bank: it cannot be delegated to a vendor or servicer.

Amendments and retention

A bank's primary federal regulator may require an amended report when a filing contains significant errors in how items were classified. Banks keep a signed and attested copy of each report, including amendments, with the supporting workpapers, for three years after the report date, or longer where state law requires.

Reading the result instead of the form

The instructions explain how to fill in the report. Once it is filed, the data is public, and every bank's filings are on its profile here: the balance sheet and income statement, the supporting schedules as line items, and the ratios analysts calculate from them, back to 2000. How to read a bank's financial statements walks through the two main schedules.

Frequently asked questions

Where can I find the Call Report instructions?

The FFIEC publishes them on each form's reporting-forms page at ffiec.gov, next to the blank report forms and the quarterly supplemental instructions. One instruction book covers both the FFIEC 031 and the FFIEC 041; the FFIEC 051 has its own book.

Who is required to file a Call Report?

Every national bank, state member bank, insured state nonmember bank, and savings association files a consolidated Call Report each quarter, as of the close of business on the last calendar day of the quarter. Credit unions file the NCUA 5300 instead, and holding companies file the FR Y-9C.

Which banks can use the FFIEC 051 instructions?

A bank with domestic offices only and total assets under $5 billion may file the FFIEC 051, unless it is an advanced approaches institution, is subject to Category III capital standards, or is a large or highly complex institution for deposit insurance purposes. Total assets are measured as of June 30 and set eligibility from the following March. An eligible bank may choose the FFIEC 041 instead, and its regulator may require it.

When is the Call Report due?

The CDR must receive the completed report no more than 30 calendar days after the report date, for example by April 30 for the March 31 report. A bank with more than one foreign office, other than a shell branch or an IBF, has 35 days. The instructions state that no extensions are granted.

What software do banks use to file the Call Report?

Banks prepare the report in software that meets the CDR's technical specifications and submit it electronically to the FFIEC Central Data Repository. Vendors whose software has passed testing are listed in each quarter's Financial Institution Letter for the Call Report, and a bank may also build its own software and test it directly with the CDR. Filing a paper report with the FDIC or a Reserve Bank is not accepted.

Is there a Call Report template?

The blank report forms the FFIEC posts with the instructions are the template: one PDF per form, schedule by schedule, with every line item identified by its MDRM code. The BankRegReports call report code pages list each schedule's line items with their codes and definitions.

Who signs the Call Report?

The chief financial officer, or the person in an equivalent role, signs a declaration that the report is correct. At least three directors attest to it at a national bank, state member bank, or savings association, and at least two at a state nonmember bank.

How long must a bank keep its Call Reports?

Three years after the report date, including amended reports and the supporting workpapers, unless a state requirement sets a longer period.

Keep reading

• What is a Call Report? The report itself: what it contains, and how the three forms differ in detail.
• Call report filing schedule: quarter-end dates, deadlines, and when the data is published.
• Call report codes: every public line item by schedule, with its MDRM code.
• FFIEC CDR: the repository reports are filed into, and why its login is for filers only.
• RSSD ID lookup: find the identifier a bank files under.