---
title: "Core Deposits: definition, formula, and thresholds"
description: "Core deposits are a bank's stable, relationship-based funding (checking, savings, and smaller time deposits) excluding rate-sensitive jumbo CDs and brokered money. They are the cheapest and stickiest funding a bank has."
canonical_url: https://www.bankregreports.com/glossary/core-deposits/
source: BankRegReports
category: "Liquidity & Balance Sheet"
units: "$"
schedule: "Schedule RC-E"
---

# Core Deposits

> Core deposits are a bank's stable, relationship-based funding (checking, savings, and smaller time deposits) excluding rate-sensitive jumbo CDs and brokered money. They are the cheapest and stickiest funding a bank has.

## Formula

```
Core Deposits = Total Deposits - Time Deposits > $250k - Brokered Deposits of $250k or less - Foreign Office Deposits
```

Derived from Schedule RC-E. The idea is to remove funding that chases rate and leaves quickly (large uninsured CDs and brokered deposits) leaving the relationship balances that stay through a rate cycle. Dividing by total funding (deposits plus borrowings) gives the funding-based measure used in the bands below; the core deposit ratio page divides by total deposits instead, so its figures run higher.

## Why it matters

Core deposits are the foundation of a durable, low-cost funding base. A bank funded mostly by core deposits weathers rising rates and stress far better than one leaning on brokered or wholesale money, which reprices fast and runs in a panic.

## How to read it

Read core deposits as a share of total funding (core ÷ total funding). A high ratio signals a stable franchise; a falling one means the bank is replacing departing relationship money with costlier, flightier funding, a classic pre-stress pattern.

## Thresholds

| Range | Reading | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| ≥ 85% of funding | Strong | Predominantly stable relationship funding. |
| 70-85% | Adequate | Solid core base with some wholesale reliance. |
| 50-70% | Watch | Meaningful dependence on rate-sensitive funding. |
| < 50% | Concern | Funding dominated by hot money; elevated liquidity risk. |


## Worked example

A bank with $1.6 billion of total deposits, $200 million of jumbo CDs, and $100 million of brokered deposits has about $1.3 billion of core deposits, roughly an 80% core base that funds its loans cheaply and stably.

## Questions

### What are core deposits?

Core deposits are the deposits a bank can count on to stay: checking and savings accounts, money market accounts, and time deposits of $250,000 or less, gathered from its own customers. They exclude jumbo time deposits above the insurance limit and brokered deposits, which move when rates change.

### What is the core deposit definition used in bank analysis?

Start from total deposits on Schedule RC-E of the Call Report and subtract time deposits over $250,000, brokered deposits of $250,000 or less, and deposits in foreign offices. The result is the funding a bank holds through a rate cycle. Core deposits are a dollar amount; the core deposit ratio divides them by total deposits.

### What is excluded from core deposits?

Large time deposits above the $250,000 insurance limit (jumbo CDs) and brokered deposits are excluded because they are rate-sensitive and prone to leave. What remains (checking, savings, and small CDs) is core.

### Why are core deposits considered stable?

They come from ongoing customer relationships rather than rate-shopping, so they stay through rate cycles and stress events, giving the bank dependable, low-cost funding.

## Sources

- [FFIEC Call Report Schedule RC-E (Deposit Liabilities)](https://www.ffiec.gov/sites/default/files/data/reporting-forms/FFIEC031_FFIEC041_202606_i.pdf) (PDF)

## Related metrics

- [Core Deposit Ratio](https://www.bankregreports.com/glossary/core-deposit-ratio/): The Core Deposit Ratio measures 'core' deposits (total deposits less time deposits over $250,000 and less brokered deposits of $250,000 or less) as a percentage of total deposits. Core deposits are the most stable, lowest-cost funding source available to a bank.
- [Total Deposits](https://www.bankregreports.com/glossary/total-deposits/): Total deposits is the sum of all money customers have placed with a bank (checking, savings, money market, and time deposits) across domestic and foreign offices. It is a bank's primary and cheapest source of funding.
- [Brokered Deposits Ratio](https://www.bankregreports.com/glossary/brokered-deposits/): The Brokered Deposits Ratio measures deposits placed through deposit brokers as a percentage of total deposits. Heavy reliance on brokered deposits is a regulatory red flag because of their rate-sensitivity and association with the 1989 thrift crisis.
- [Time Deposits (CDs)](https://www.bankregreports.com/glossary/time-deposits/): Time deposits are certificates of deposit (CDs) with a fixed maturity and rate. Smaller, retail CDs are reasonably stable; large 'jumbo' CDs above the insurance limit are more rate-sensitive and treated as a less reliable funding source.
- [Noninterest-Bearing Deposits](https://www.bankregreports.com/glossary/demand-deposits/): Noninterest-bearing deposits, primarily demand deposit accounts (checking), are balances on which a bank pays no interest. They are the cheapest, stickiest funding a bank can have and a key driver of net interest margin.

## About this document

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