Federal Reserve Bulletin, Volume 93, 2007 Current Bulletin

Profits and Balance Sheet Developments at U.S. Commercial Banks in 2006

Figure 28. Reserves for loan and lease losses, 1990-2006. Data plotted as curves. Three panels. In the top panel, reserves as a percentage of total loans and leases begins in 1990 at about 2.5 percent, rises to about 2.7 percent by 1992, falls to about 1.7 percent in 2000, rises to about 1.9 percent by 2002, and falls to about 1.2 percent by 2006. In the middle panel, reserves as a percentage of delinquent loans begins in 1990 at about 50 percent, falls to around 45 percent in 1991, rises to about 85 percent by 1995, declines gradually to about 65 percent by 2001, rises to about 85 percent by 2004, holds at that level in 2005, and then declines to about 75 percent in 2006. In the bottom panel, reserves as a percentage of net charge-offs begins in 1990 at about 190 percent, rises to about 480 percent by 1994, generally declines to about 190 percent by 2002, and then rises on balance to around 300 percent by 2006.

Note: The data are annual. For definitions of delinquencies and net charge-offs, refer to the note for figure 23 .

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