Liquidity & Balance Sheet
Wholesale Funding Ratio
Also known as Wholesale Funding
The wholesale funding ratio measures borrowed money and non-core, rate-sensitive deposits as a percentage of total funding — the share of a bank's balance sheet financed by sources other than stable core deposits.
Formula
Federal funds purchased, repurchase agreements, FHLB advances, subordinated debt, and brokered/large time deposits, divided by total funding (deposits plus borrowings).
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 interpret
Most community banks run wholesale funding below 20% of funding. 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 | Label | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| < 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
Frequently asked
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)
- FFIEC UBPR Liquidity & Funding
See Wholesale Funding across 4,335 US banks
BankRegReports ranks every FDIC-insured institution by Wholesale Funding, refreshed quarterly within 48 hours of FFIEC release.