Commercial banks and savings institutions insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) reported earnings totaling $141.3 billion in 2012, a 19.3% improvement over 2011 and the second-highest total ever reported by the industry after the $145.2 billion earned in 2006.
‘The improving trend that began more than three years ago gained further ground in the fourth quarter,’ says FDIC Chairman Martin J. Gruenberg. ‘Balances of troubled loans declined, earnings rose from a year ago, and more institutions of all sizes showed improved performance.’
For the fourth quarter of 2012, FDIC-insured banks reported an aggregate net income of $34.7 billion, a 36.9% improvement from the $25.3 billion in profits the industry reported in the fourth quarter of 2011. This is the 14th quarter in a row that earnings have registered a year-over-year increase.
Eight FDIC-insured institutions failed in the fourth quarter. This was the smallest quarterly total since the second quarter of 2008, when two insured institutions were closed. For all of 2012, there were 51 failures, compared to 92 in 2011 and 157 in 2010.