Liquidity & Balance Sheet
Total Loans & Leases
Also known as 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.
Formula
Schedule RC-C breaks the loan book into categories. The gross figure is before the allowance for credit losses; subtracting the allowance gives 'net loans,' which is what appears on the asset side of Schedule RC.
Why it matters
Loans generate the bulk of interest income but also carry the bulk of credit risk. The size and mix of the loan book drive both earnings and the asset-quality and concentration ratios examiners watch most closely.
How to interpret
Total loans is best read as a trend and a mix. Rapid loan growth well above peers can signal loosening underwriting; the category breakdown (especially commercial real estate and construction) reveals concentration risk that the headline number hides.
Thresholds
| Range | Label | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Steady, diversified growth | Strong | Loan growth funded by deposits across a diversified book. |
| In line with peers | Adequate | Growth roughly matching the peer group and the funding base. |
| Rapid / concentrated | Watch | Fast growth or heavy CRE/construction tilt warrants a closer look. |
| Outsized vs. capital | Concern | Aggressive growth relative to capital is a recurring failure pattern. |
Worked example
Frequently asked
Is 'total loans' gross or net of the allowance?
The Schedule RC-C total is gross. Net loans — gross less the allowance for credit losses — is the figure carried on the balance sheet (Schedule RC).
Do total loans include loans held for sale?
Loans held for sale (typically mortgages awaiting securitization) are reported separately from loans held for investment. The core loan book figure is held-for-investment loans and leases.
Sources
- FFIEC Call Report Schedule RC-C (Loans and Lease Financing Receivables)
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