---
title: "Wholesale Funding Ratio: definition, formula, and thresholds"
description: "The wholesale funding ratio measures total borrowings (federal funds purchased, repurchase agreements, FHLB advances, other borrowed money and subordinated debt) as a percentage of total assets, the share of the balance sheet financed by borrowed money rather than deposits. A broader \"reliance on wholesale funding\" measure, which adds brokered and other non-core deposits over total funding, is served separately."
canonical_url: https://www.bankregreports.com/glossary/wholesale-funding-ratio/
source: BankRegReports
category: "Liquidity & Balance Sheet"
units: "%"
schedule: "Schedule RC-E"
---

# Wholesale Funding Ratio

> The wholesale funding ratio measures total borrowings (federal funds purchased, repurchase agreements, FHLB advances, other borrowed money and subordinated debt) as a percentage of total assets, the share of the balance sheet financed by borrowed money rather than deposits. A broader "reliance on wholesale funding" measure, which adds brokered and other non-core deposits over total funding, is served separately.

## Formula

```
Wholesale Funding Ratio = Total Borrowings / Total Assets
```

Total borrowings (federal funds purchased, repurchase agreements, FHLB advances, other borrowed money and subordinated debt) divided by total assets. Brokered and large time deposits are not included in this measure.

## Why it matters

Wholesale funding is fast and flexible but flighty and rate-sensitive: it reprices and can disappear quickly under stress, unlike sticky core deposits. A high reliance on it raises both interest-rate risk and liquidity risk.

## How to read it

Most community banks run borrowings below 20% of assets. Above ~30% the bank is materially dependent on confidence-sensitive funding and more exposed to a rate or liquidity shock. Read together with the core-deposit ratio (its mirror image) and the liquid-assets ratio.

## Thresholds

| Range | Reading | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| < 15% | Low reliance | Predominantly core-deposit funded. |
| 15–30% | Moderate | Common for growth-oriented or larger banks. |
| 30–45% | Elevated | Material dependence on rate-sensitive funding. |
| > 45% | High | Heavy reliance on flighty, confidence-sensitive funding. |


## Worked example

A bank with $900 million of FHLB advances, repurchase agreements and other borrowings against $4.5 billion of total assets has a 20% wholesale funding ratio, moderate, but worth watching if deposit competition intensifies.

## Questions

### Why is wholesale funding considered riskier than core deposits?

Core deposits (checking, savings, and small-balance accounts from relationship customers) are sticky and cheap. Wholesale funding (FHLB advances, brokered deposits, repos) reprices with the market and can be pulled or become uneconomic quickly, so heavy reliance raises both liquidity and interest-rate risk.

### Are brokered deposits the same as wholesale funding?

Brokered deposits are one component of wholesale funding. Wholesale funding also includes secured and unsecured borrowings such as FHLB advances, fed funds purchased, repurchase agreements, and subordinated debt.

## Sources

- [FFIEC Call Report Schedule RC-E (Deposits)](https://www.ffiec.gov/sites/default/files/data/reporting-forms/FFIEC031_FFIEC041_202606_i.pdf) (PDF)
- [FFIEC UBPR Liquidity & Funding](https://www.ffiec.gov/data/ubpr)

## 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.
- [Brokered Deposits](https://www.bankregreports.com/glossary/brokered-deposits/): Brokered deposits are deposits a bank obtains through a deposit broker, a third party that places its customers' money at the bank, instead of directly from depositors. The brokered deposits ratio is brokered deposits divided by total deposits; heavy reliance on them is a supervisory red flag because the money is rate-sensitive and can leave quickly.
- [FHLB Advances](https://www.bankregreports.com/glossary/fhlb-advances/): Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) Advances are collateralized loans from one of the 11 regional FHLBs to member banks. FHLB advances are the largest single source of wholesale funding for US community and regional banks.
- [Liquid Assets Ratio](https://www.bankregreports.com/glossary/liquid-assets-ratio/): The liquid assets ratio measures cash and readily marketable securities as a percentage of total assets. The on-balance-sheet cushion a bank can tap quickly to meet deposit outflows without fire-selling loans.

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