--- title: "Commercial & Industrial Loans: definition, formula, and thresholds" description: "Commercial and industrial (C&I) loans are bank loans to businesses for purposes other than real estate: working capital lines, equipment and inventory financing, and term loans repaid from the company's operating cash flow. They are the core product of business banking." canonical_url: https://www.bankregreports.com/glossary/ci-loans/ source: BankRegReports category: "Asset Quality" units: "$" schedule: "Schedule RC-C" --- # Commercial & Industrial Loans > Commercial and industrial (C&I) loans are bank loans to businesses for purposes other than real estate: working capital lines, equipment and inventory financing, and term loans repaid from the company's operating cash flow. They are the core product of business banking. ## Formula ``` C&I Share of Loans = Commercial and Industrial Loans / Total Loans and Leases ``` Banks report C&I loans on Call Report Schedule RC-C, Part I, item 4: to US addressees and to non-US addressees on the FFIEC 031, as one line on the FFIEC 041 and 051. A loan secured mainly by real estate is reported as a real estate loan even if a business borrows it, so C&I loans are the business loans repaid from operations rather than property. Dividing C&I loans by total loans gives the share of the book in business lending. ## Why it matters C&I lending brings business deposit and treasury relationships with it, which is why commercial banks compete for it. It is also the loan type that turns early in a downturn: balances can jump at first as companies draw on credit lines (as in 2008 and 2020), then shrink as they borrow less, and charge-offs rise as weaker borrowers fail. Its trend is an early signal for both credit quality and loan growth. ## How to read it Read C&I loans as a share of total loans and against C&I charge-offs. A high share points to a commercial bank rather than a mortgage lender or a real estate lender. Fast C&I growth can reflect demand or looser underwriting, so check the bank's past-due and nonaccrual C&I loans on Schedule RC-N. Many C&I loans are floating rate, so their yields reprice quickly when rates move. ## Thresholds | Range | Reading | What it means | |---|---|---| | Diversified, seasoned | Strong | Granular C&I book with a stable loss history. | | Typical | Adequate | C&I share in line with a commercial bank peer group. | | Rapid growth | Watch | Fast growth warrants underwriting scrutiny. | | Rising losses | Concern | Climbing C&I charge-offs signal credit deterioration. | ## Worked example At June 30, 2026, Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. reported $200,246 million of C&I loans, $181,598 million to US borrowers and $18,648 million to non-US borrowers, out of $997,790 million of total loans: a 20.1% C&I share. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. reported $241,848 million of C&I loans out of $1,561,577 million, 15.5%. ## Questions ### What is C and I lending? C and I lending, short for commercial and industrial lending, is bank credit to businesses for working capital, equipment, inventory and other operating needs, repaid from the company's cash flow rather than from real estate. ### What are C&I loans? C&I loans are the business loans a bank reports on Schedule RC-C, item 4: lines of credit, term loans and equipment loans to companies, excluding loans secured mainly by real estate. ### What is the difference between C&I loans and commercial real estate loans? C&I loans are repaid from a business's operating cash flow. Commercial real estate loans are secured by property and repaid from its rents or sale, and they are reported separately. ### Why are C&I loans seen as economically sensitive? They are usually shorter term, often floating rate and tied to business activity, so balances and losses move with the economic cycle. ## Sources - [FFIEC Call Report Schedule RC-C, Part I (Loans and Leases), item 4](https://www.ffiec.gov/sites/default/files/data/reporting-forms/FFIEC031_FFIEC041_202606_i.pdf) (PDF) ## Related metrics - [Total Loans & Leases](https://www.bankregreports.com/glossary/total-loans/): Total loans and leases is the gross amount a bank has lent out (commercial, real estate, consumer, and agricultural credit) before subtracting the allowance for credit losses. It is usually a bank's largest asset and its primary earning engine. - [Commercial Real Estate Loans](https://www.bankregreports.com/glossary/cre-loans/): Commercial real estate (CRE) loans are credit secured by income-producing or owner-occupied commercial property: office, retail, multifamily, industrial. They are the largest asset class at many community banks and the focus of intense supervisory attention since 2023. - [Small Business Loans](https://www.bankregreports.com/glossary/small-business-loans/): Small Business Loans are commercial credit extensions to businesses, typically under $1M individually. The category is dominated by community banks and is the primary basis for the Community Reinvestment Act small-business assessment. - [Net Charge-Off Ratio](https://www.bankregreports.com/glossary/nco-ratio/): The Net Charge-Off ratio (annualized) measures loans actually written off as uncollectible (less subsequent recoveries) divided by average loans outstanding. It is the realized credit loss experience of the bank. - [Nonperforming Loans Ratio](https://www.bankregreports.com/glossary/npl-ratio/): A nonperforming loan (NPL) is a loan whose borrower has stopped paying as agreed: the bank has put it on nonaccrual because full collection is doubtful, or it is 90 or more days past due. The NPL ratio divides those loans by total loans. Regulators call them noncurrent loans. ## About this document This is the markdown twin of the page named in `canonical_url` above. Source filings are public record; the cleaning, normalization, cross-source linkage, and derived metrics are BankRegReports' own. Attribute with a link to the canonical URL. Markdown twins are published for editorial content only. Institution data pages do not have them. For data at scale use the API, which is documented at https://www.bankregreports.com/api/ and specified at https://www.bankregreports.com/openapi.json. 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