Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

Appendix A: Data Sources and Terms

Data Sources

The Supervision and Regulation Report includes data on institutions supervised or not supervised by the Federal Reserve System. The report reflects data through September 10, 2021. This appendix details these sources.

FFIEC Call Reports

The FFIEC Consolidated Reports of Condition and Income, also known as the Call Report, is a periodic report that is required to be completed by every national bank, state member bank, insured nonmember bank, and savings association as of the last day of each calendar quarter. The details required to be reported depend on the size of the institution, the nature of the institution's activities, and whether it has foreign offices. Call Report data are a widely used source of timely and accurate financial data regarding a bank's financial condition and the results of its operations. The data collected from the Call Report are used to monitor the condition, performance, and risk profiles of the institutions as individuals and as an industry.

FR Y-9C

The Consolidated Financial Statement for Holding Companies, also known as the FR Y-9C report, collects basic financial data from domestic bank holding companies (BHCs), savings and loan holding companies (SLHCs), U.S. intermediate holding companies (IHCs), and securities holding companies (SHCs). Initiatives to reduce reporting costs for firms led to changes in the minimum asset size thresholds for reporting from $500 million to $1 billion, and from $1 billion to $3 billion effective March 2015 and September 2018, respectively. In addition, BHCs, SLHCs, U.S. IHCs, and SHCs meeting certain criteria may be required to file this report, regardless of size. However, when such BHCs, SLHCs, U.S. IHCs, or SHCs own or control, or are owned or controlled by, other BHCs, SLHCs, U.S. IHCs, or SHCs, only top tier holding companies must file this report for the consolidated holding company organization. The information contained in the report is as of the last day of each calendar quarter.

H.8 – Assets and Liabilities of Commercial Banks in the United States

The H.8 release provides an estimated weekly aggregate balance sheet for all commercial banks in the United States. The H.8 release is primarily based on data that are reported weekly by a sample of approximately 875 domestically chartered banks and foreign-related institutions. Data for domestically chartered commercial banks and foreign-related institutions that do not report weekly are estimated at a weekly frequency based on quarterly Call Report data.

Notes on Data Sources and Terms

CAMELS Ratings

Following an examination of a commercial bank, the examiner's conclusions regarding the overall condition of the bank are summarized in a composite rating assigned in accordance with guidelines provided under the Uniform Financial Institution Rating system (CAMELS). The composite rating represents an overall appraisal of six key assessment areas (components) covered under the CAMELS rating system: Capital, Asset quality, Management, Earnings, Liquidity, and Sensitivity to market risk.

In addition, and separate from the interagency Uniform Financial Institutions Rating System, the Federal Reserve assigns a risk-management rating to all SMBs. The summary, or composite, rating, as well as each of the assessment areas, including risk management, is delineated on a numerical scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the highest or best possible rating. Thus, a bank with a composite rating of 1 requires the lowest level of supervisory attention while a 5-rated bank has the most critically deficient level of performance and therefore requires the highest degree of supervisory attention.

When appraising the six key assessment areas and assigning a composite rating, the examiner weighs and evaluates all relevant factors for downgrades and upgrades of supervisory ratings.

Commercial Real Estate Loans

The sum of construction, land development, and other land loans; loans secured by multifamily residential properties; and loans secured by nonfarm nonresidential properties.

Note: H.8 CRE data include loans secured by farmland.

Common Equity Tier 1

Common equity capital is currently evaluated using a common equity tier 1 (CET1) capital ratio, which was introduced into the regulatory capital framework in 2014, consistent with international Basel III reforms. The CET1 capital ratio is defined as CET1 capital, which consists primarily of common stock and retained earnings, as a percent of risk-weighted assets. Advanced approaches institutions are required to report risk-weighted assets using an internal model-based approach and a standardized approach. An advanced approaches institution is subject to the lower of the ratios. CBOs that have opted into the community bank leverage ratio (CBLR) framework are not required to report a CET1 capital ratio and risk-weighted assets.

From 2006 through 2013, tier 1 common capital was used to measure common equity capital for all firms. In 2014, both tier 1 common capital (for non-advanced approaches firms) and CET1 capital (for advanced approaches firms) were used. From 2015 to present, CET1 capital has been used for all firms.

Community Bank Leverage Ratio Framework

The CBLR framework, which became effective January 1, 2020, allows qualifying CBOs to adopt a simple leverage ratio to measure capital adequacy. To qualify for the framework, a CBO must have less than $10 billion in total consolidated assets, have limited trading activity and off-balance-sheet exposure, meet the leverage ratio requirement, and not be part of an advanced approaches banking organization. The leverage ratio requirement for the CBLR framework was temporarily lowered to 8 percent beginning in the second quarter of 2020 through the remainder of calendar year 2020. The requirement was set at 8.5 percent for calendar year 2021 and will return to its previous 9 percent level beginning January 1, 2022.

The leverage ratio requirement for the CBLR framework is defined as tier 1 capital as a percent of average total consolidated assets for the quarter as reported on Schedule RC-K on the Call Report or Schedule HC-K on Form FR Y-9C, as applicable. A CBLR banking organization with a ratio above the requirement will not be subject to other capital and leverage requirements.

Consumer Loans

Consumer loans include credit cards, other revolving credit lines, automobile loans, and other consumer loans (includes single payment and installment loans other than automobile loans, and all student loans).

Credit Default Swap Spread

The five-year credit default swap spread is the premium payment expressed as a proportion of the notional value of the debt that is being insured against default (typically $10 million in senior debt) in basis points. Data are based on daily polls of individual broker-dealers worldwide. Note that these broker quotes are typically not transaction prices. Data provided are for LISCC firms only.

Credit Loss Reserves

Credit loss reserves represent the allowance for credit losses on a bank's portfolio of financial instruments carried at amortized cost (including loans held for investment, held-to-maturity debt securities, trade receivables, reinsurance receivables, and receivables that relate to repurchase agreements and securities lending agreements), net investment in leases as a lessor, and off-balance sheet credit exposures not accounted for as insurance or derivatives. Credit loss reserves are recorded on a bank's balance sheet.

Note: For banks that have not yet adopted the Current Expected Credit Losses (CECL) accounting standard, credit loss reserves represent the allowance for losses on a bank's portfolio of loans and leases held for investment.

Delinquent Loans

Delinquent loans are the sum of 90+ days past due loans and nonaccrual loans.

Liquid Assets

Liquid assets are cash plus estimates of securities that qualify as high-quality liquid assets, as defined by the Board's liquidity coverage ratio rule.

Loan Modifications under Section 4013 of the CARES Act

Section 4013 of the CARES Act (and further amendments by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021) allows financial institutions to suspend the requirements to classify certain loan modifications as troubled debt restructurings. To be an eligible loan under section 4013, a loan modification must be: (1) related to COVID-19; (2) executed on a loan that was not more than 30 days past due as of December 31, 2019; and (3) executed between March 1, 2020, and the earlier of (a) 60 days after the date of termination of the National Emergency or (b) January 1, 2022 (referred to as the "applicable period").

Market Leverage

The market leverage ratio—defined as the ratio of the firm's market capitalization to the sum of market capitalization and the book value of liabilities—can be considered a market-based measure of firm capital (expressed in percentage points). Data provided are for LISCC firms only.

Material Supervisory Determination

As explained in SR Letter 20-28/CA Letter 20-14, a "material supervisory determination" includes, but is not limited to, any material determination relating to examination or inspection composite ratings, material examination or inspection component ratings, the adequacy of loan loss reserves and/or capital, significant loan classification, accounting interpretation, Matters Requiring Attention (MRAs), Matters Requiring Immediate Attention (MRIAs), Community Reinvestment Act ratings (including component ratings), and consumer compliance ratings. The term does not include any supervisory determination for which an independent right of appeal exists or a referral to another government agency.

Provisions

Provisions represent the amount necessary to adjust credit loss reserves to reflect management's current estimate of expected credit losses. Provisions are recorded as an expense item on the bank's income statement.

Note: For banks that have not adopted the CECL accounting standard, provisions represent the amount needed to make the allowance for losses on a bank's portfolio of loans and leases adequate to absorb management's estimate of loan and lease losses.

Residential Real Estate Loans

Loans secured by 1 to 4 family residential properties, including: revolving, open-end loans secured by 1 to 4 family residential properties and extended under lines of credit; closed-end loans secured by first liens on 1 to 4 family residential properties; and closed-end loans secured by junior (i.e., other than first) liens on 1 to 4 family residential properties.

Top Holder

All data, unless otherwise noted, use top-holder data. This population generally comprises top-tier Call Report filers and top-tier Y-9C filers, including depository SLHCs and foreign banking organizations. In instances where a top-tier holding company does not file the Y-9C, we combine financial data of subsidiary banks/thrifts to approximate the consolidated financial data of the holding company. Commercial and insurance SLHCs, cooperative banks, and Federal Reserve member non-deposit trust companies are excluded from the top-holder population.

Tailoring of Regulation

In October 2019, the Board adopted rules that tailor its regulations for domestic and foreign banks to more closely match their risk profiles. The rules establish a framework that sorts banks with $100 billion or more in total assets into four categories based on several factors, including asset size, cross-jurisdictional activity, reliance on weighted short-term wholesale funding (wSTWF), nonbank assets (NBA), and off-balance-sheet exposure (table A).

Table 1.A. List of domestic and foreign firms, by category, as of 2021:Q2