Federal Reserve Bulletin

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

Figure 14. Assets and regulatory capital at well-capitalized banks, 1990-2005. Data plotted as curves. Two panels. In the top panel, the share of industry assets at well-capitalized banks begins in 1990 at about 30 percent, rises to reach just under 100 percent by 1997, and stays at about that level through 2005. In the bottom panel, the average margin by which banks were well capitalized begins in 1990 at about 2.9 percentage points, rises to about 3 percentage points in 1991, declines, on balance, to reach about 1.8 percentage points in 2000, rises to about 2.2 percentage points by 2002, and then declines to reach about 2 percentage points in 2005.

Note: The data are annual. For the definitions of "well capitalized" and of the margin by which banks remain well capitalized, refer to text notes 13 and 14.  Return to article