While bank profits rose 21% in Q2 ’12 compared to a year earlier, looks can be deceiving. Much of the increase is due to one-time releases from loan-loss reserves. Worse, net interest margins fell to 3.46% in Q2 from 3.52% in Q1. And margins will shrink further as yields on deposits can’t fall more, and old loans issued when rates were higher mature and are replaced by lower-yielding ones.
Tag Archives: Bank Profits
Profits to Bank On
I am sure you will be delighted to learn that US banks earned profits of $35 billion in Q3 ’11, their best showing since before the recession. The up-tick is primarily due to banks putting aside less to cover bad loans, not due to interest from new ones; bank loan balances increased by just $21.8 billion, or 0.3%. Banks with assets greater than $10 billion accounted for 85% of earnings, yet comprise 1.5% of all banks.