Lending rises at nation’s bank in first quarter, although delinquencies rise for CRE, consumer loans

Lending was up at the nation’s banks in the first quarter of the year, seeing a 1.6% increase from the last quarter of 2025 for an annual rise of 7.1%, the federal bank deposit insurance agency said Wednesday.

However, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) said, asset quality metrics – although “generally favorable” – showed elevated delinquency rates among some commercial real estate (CRE) and consumer portfolios in the year’s first quarter.

Further, the agency noted, while return on assets at banks was about the same as the previous quarter – at 1.26%, compared to 1.23% — net interest margins fell 8 bp from the previous quarter to 3.31. The FDIC explained that the cause behind the erosion was that earning asset yields declined faster than funding costs (-21.9 vs. -13.2%).

Still, the ROA level was above 1.2% for the third straight quarter. Aggregate net income, the FDIC said, was $80.5 billion, an increase of $2.8 billion (3.6%) from the Q4 2025.

FDIC-Insured Institutions Reported Return on Assets of 1.26 Percent and Net Income of $80.5 Billion in First Quarter 2026