Federal Reserve Bulletin

Profits and Balance Sheet Developments at U.S. Commercial Banks in 2005

Figure B. Credit card bank profitability, 1990-2005. Data plotted as curves. The return on assets starts in 1990 at about 2 percent, falls to about 1 percent in 1991, rises to reach about 4 percent in 1993, falls to about 2 percent by 1996, rises to about 3.5 percent by 1999, falls to about 2.75 percent in 2000, rises to reach about 4 percent in 2003, then falls to about 3 percent by 2005. The return on equity starts in 1990 at about 25 percent, drops to about 13 percent in 1991, rises to about 34 percent in 1994, drops to about 18 percent by 1997, rises to about 30 percent in 1999, generally falls to 26 percent in 2003, then drops to about 14 percent in 2005.

Note: The data are annual.  Return to article