The average profitability of banks in Tenth District states edged up in 1987 after five years of decline. Agricultural banks showed the greatest recovery, combining faster loan growth with lower loan losses and higher profits.

The consolidation of the U.S. banking industry has greatly increased the importance of large multi-market banking organizations relative to smaller, single-market banks. An issue that has not received much attention is how multi-market banking has affected the response of local bank lending to...

Manufacturing activity in the Kansas City Federal Reserve District expanded in July but at a slightly slower pace than earlier in the year, according to a quarterly survey of manufacturers across the district. The survey takes a snapshot of manufacturing the first month of each quarter by asking...

The U.S. economy is currently experiencing a period of significant financial stress. This stress has contributed to the downturn in the economy by boosting the cost of credit and making businesses, households, and financial institutions highly cautious. To alleviate the financial stress and...

While bank security holdings have increased sharply in recent years, there is widespread disagreement about the significance of the increase. Some analysts argue that the increase is not a cause for concern because it results from temporary factors such as the business cycle. Others argue that...