FDIC-Insured Institutions Earned $36.9 Billion in the Fourth Quarter of 2014 — 2015-02-24

Community Bank Earnings Up 28 Percent Commercial banks and savings institutions insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) reported aggregate net income of $36.9 billion in the fourth quarter of 2014, down $2.9 billion (7.3 percent) from earnings of $39.8 billion that the industry reported a year earlier. The decline in earnings was mainly attributable to a $4.4 billion increase in litigation expenses at a few large banks. More than half of the 6,509 insured institutions reporting (61.2 percent) had year-over-year growth in quarterly earnings. The proportion of banks that were unprofitable during the fourth quarter fell to 9.4 percent from 12.7 percent a year earlier. "The banking industry continued to improve at the end of the year," FDIC Chairman Martin J. Gruenberg said.