Find out why community banks will benefit from the new FDIC assessment base as called for under the Dodd-Frank Act.

We examine the value of feedback from the jumbo-certificate-of-deposit (CD) market in the off-site surveillance of community banks. Using accounting data, we construct proxies for default premiums on jumbo CDs. Then, we produce rank orderings of community banks -- defined as institutions holding...

Net interest margins are clearly under pressure at community banks, but this trend is not new. It is a product of a highly competitive banking industry and a direct result of today’s lower lending levels and abundant balance sheet liquidity. The net interest margin is the difference between...

The total volume of loans held by community banks peaked in 2008 and dropped during the financial crisis and Great Recession. Total loans bottomed out in 2011 and, as of December 2012, have only recovered to a level roughly 10 percent below their 2008 peak. During this period, both demand and...

Mergers of community banks across economic market areas potentially reduce both idiosyncratic and local market risk. Idiosyncratic risk may be reduced because the larger post merger bank has a larger customer base. Negative credit and liquidity shocks from individual customers would have smaller...

This article examines the condition of the banking industry in the United States, with an emphasis on community banks. In spite of the recent recession, the condition of the banking industry is substantially better than during the recession of 1990-91. There has been an increase in problem loans...

The shares of total U.S. banking assets and deposits held by the very largest banking organizations have increased markedly over the past 25 years, while the shares held by small “community” banks have declined. Advances in information technology may have reduced the advantages of small...

Small banks have an important role in financing economic activity through their financial services for small businesses. There has been a sharp decline in the number of small banking organizations in the U.S. since the early 1980s. A continuation of this trend would raise important issues about...