During the early 1990s, some accused examiners of being too strict with banks in New England and California, thus contributing to economic difficulties in those regions. When measures of examiner strictness are analyzed, however, no evidence of strictness is found. To the contrary, banks in New...

Movements in the monetary aggregates affect the price level, interest rates, real output, and employment. For that reason they are among the most closely-watched financial statistics. This article provides a practical introduction and guide to the various monetary aggregates

Although the profitability of U.S. small banks shrank in the 1980s, two percent of these banks remained highly profitable by emphasizing basic banking, namely acquiring low-cost funds and making low-risk investments

Gains from sales of securities and lower loan loss previsions helped bring higher profits to large Fifth District commercial banks in 1986. At the same time, small- and medium-sized bank profits fell slightly in the District from the previous year. As in the past few years, Fifth District banks...

The final four years of the 1980s were difficult for banks in the U.S. Between 1986 and 1988 problems in the agricultural and oil sectors led to losses and numerous bank failures. The nation's largest banks suffered losses as income was set aside in 1987 and 1989 to deal with problems in...

Bank profitability as measured by return on assets and return on equity declined in the Fifth Federal Reserve Disntrict in 1987 due largely to increased loan and lease loss provisions. Nationwide the profitability decline was considerably larger because the average loss provision greatly...

Short-term municipal securities are defined by two characteristics. First, they are issued by state and local governments and the special districts and statutory authorities they establish. Second, they either have original maturities of less than three years or have longer final maturities but...

The profitability of commercial banks in the Fifth Federal Reserve District improved in 1985. Return on assets reached .98 percent and return on equity 15.41 percent, well above the average of the past seven years. In comparison, the corresponding figures for all banks in the United States were...

The 1980 enactment of legislation extending authority to offer interest-bearing checking instruments to all depository institutions has brought intensified competition for consumers' transaction balances

1984 was another strong year for Fifth District banks. Average return on assets, though slightly lower than in 1983, was still higher than the national average. This article, by David L. Mengle and John R. Walter, analyzes the factors affecting the profitability of District banks in 1984 to...