Profits and Balance Sheet Developments at U.S. Commercial Banks in 2007
Figure 31. Provisions for loan and lease losses as a proportion of total revenue, 1985-2007. Data plotted as a curve. The series begins in 1985 at around 15 percent, rises to peak at about 27 percent by 1987, falls to about 13 percent in 1988, rises again to about 19 percent in 1989, stays at about that level until 1991. The ratio falls steeply to about 5 percent in 1994, trends up to about 7 percent by 1999, rises further to about 12 percent by 2001, holds about steady in 2002, declines over the next two years to a bit above 5 percent in 2004, holds at that level in 2005, edges down to about 5 percent in 2006, and then jumps to more than 10 percent in 2007.
Note: The data are annual.