WASHINGTON-Banks and thrifts posted strong earnings for Q4 2011, according to new data from the FDIC.
The agency said banks earned $26.3 billion in Q4, propelled by both decreases in loan-loss provisions and the "largest real growth" in loans in four years.
In the agency's Quarterly Banking Profile-which also reported full-year net income of almost $120 billion-the FDIC said the industry's profit was helped by a 40% drop from a year earlier in loss provisions to $19.5 billion. The performance marks the first time since 2006 that full-year earnings for banks exceeded $100 billion.
"The trend of reduced provisioning was relatively broad: more than half of all institutions (54.6%) reported lower quarterly provisions than a year ago," said the FDIC in its Quarterly Banking Profile. The FDIC said banks reported full-year net income of approximately $120 billion, including a 40% decline in loss provisions from one year earlier.
Q4 net income was 23% higher than Q4 2011. Analysis by the FDIC found that banks have reduced loss provisions for nine straight quarters. For Q3, banks reported a 1.8% increase in loan balances to $7.46 trillion, with commercial and industrial loans up 4.9% in Q4, mortgages up 1.4% and credit card balances up 3.2%.
The FDIC's "Problem List" of troubled institutions fell by 80 institutions to 7,357.
