For more than a century, U.S. commercial banks have filed standardized financial reports with federal regulators. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York compiled these "Call Reports" into a research dataset covering 1959 to 2025: 2,544,226 quarterly observations from 24,716 unique FDIC-insured commercial banks. Finleet analyzed this dataset to quantify 65 years of structural transformation in American commercial banking.
The data documents a 69% decline in the number of commercial banks, from 14,752 in 1980 to 4,519 in 2025. Over the same period, total industry assets grew from $2.0 trillion to $24.6 trillion. The ten largest commercial banks now control 52.6% of industry assets, up from 27.7% in 1980. What follows are ten charts derived directly from Call Reports data.
1. Commercial Bank Count (1959-2025)
The number of FDIC-insured commercial banks peaked at 14,752 in 1980. The count declined every subsequent year except 2012 (a reporting methodology change). By Q1 2025, 4,519 commercial banks remained, a 69.4% reduction from peak.
Number of FDIC-Insured Commercial Banks
| Year | Banks | Year | Banks | Year | Banks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | 6,217 | 1985 | 14,730 | 2010 | 6,999 |
| 1970 | 13,846 | 1990 | 12,778 | 2015 | 6,238 |
| 1980 | 14,752 | 2000 | 8,836 | 2020 | 5,050 |
| 2005 | 8,055 | 2025 | 4,519 |
Source: NY Fed Call Reports Database. Q4 figures (Q1 for 2025).
The data shows three consolidation phases: steady decline through the late 1980s, accelerated decline in the 1990s following the Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking Act of 1994, and continued attrition post-2008. The rate of decline slowed after 2015, averaging 113 fewer banks per year from 2015-2025.
2. Total Industry Assets
Total assets held by FDIC-insured commercial banks grew from $207 billion in 1959 to $24.56 trillion in Q1 2025. The compound annual growth rate over 65 years was 7.6%. Assets grew particularly rapidly during 2020, increasing $3.22 trillion (17.3%) in a single year.
Total Commercial Bank Assets (USD)
| Year | Total Assets | Year | Total Assets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | $207B | 2000 | $6.53T |
| 1970 | $685B | 2008 | $12.62T |
| 1980 | $2.01T | 2019 | $18.66T |
| 1990 | $3.62T | 2020 | $21.88T |
| 1995 | $4.57T | 2025 | $24.56T |
Source: NY Fed Call Reports Database. Nominal dollars.
3. Average Assets Per Bank
Dividing total assets by bank count produces average assets per institution. This metric increased from $136 million in 1980 to $5.43 billion in 2025, a 40-fold increase. The surviving commercial banks are substantially larger than the institutions they replaced.
Average Assets Per Commercial Bank
Calculated: Total Assets / Number of Banks
4. Top 10 Banks' Asset Concentration
Concentration among the largest commercial banks increased significantly. In 1980, the ten largest banks held 27.7% of total industry assets. This share increased to 52.6% by 2025. The concentration ratio exceeded 50% in 2007 and has remained above that level since.
Top 10 Commercial Banks' Share of Industry Assets
| Year | Top 10 Share | Year | Top 10 Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 27.7% | 2005 | 46.9% |
| 1990 | 19.7% | 2010 | 53.6% |
| 1995 | 23.6% | 2015 | 52.0% |
| 2000 | 35.6% | 2025 | 52.6% |
Calculated from individual bank asset rankings per quarter.
The temporary decline in concentration during the late 1980s reflects rapid growth in the number of smaller commercial banks. Concentration accelerated following the Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking Act of 1994, which permitted interstate bank acquisitions. Post-2008 capital and liquidity requirements further accelerated consolidation by disproportionately increasing fixed compliance costs for smaller institutions.
5. Loan Portfolio Composition
The composition of commercial bank loan portfolios shifted substantially toward real estate. Real estate loans comprised 32.6% of total loans in 1980 and 47.0% in 2025. Commercial and industrial (C&I) loans declined from 35.7% to 18.7% over the same period.
Loan Portfolio Composition (% of Total Loans)
| Year | Real Estate | C&I | Consumer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 32.6% | 35.7% | 17.5% |
| 1990 | 42.7% | 27.5% | 18.2% |
| 2000 | 45.8% | 26.6% | 15.5% |
| 2007 | 56.3% | 20.3% | 14.2% |
| 2009 | 59.8% | 17.4% | 14.7% |
| 2025 | 47.0% | 18.7% | 15.5% |
Source: NY Fed Call Reports. Loan category data available from 1976.
Real estate concentration peaked at 59.8% in 2009 as C&I and consumer loan balances contracted during the financial crisis while real estate loans were slower to run off. The ratio has since stabilized near 47%.
6. Non-Performing Loan Ratio
The non-performing loan (NPL) ratio, defined as loans 90+ days past due or in non-accrual status as a percentage of total loans, captures credit quality across economic cycles. The data shows four distinct stress periods: 1990-1991, 2001-2002, 2008-2010, and a mild uptick in 2020.
Non-Performing Loan Ratio (% of Total Loans)
NPL data available from 1984. 2009 represents the highest ratio in the dataset.
The 2009 NPL ratio of 5.52% was the highest recorded in the dataset. The current ratio of 0.98% is below the 40-year average of 2.1%.
7. Equity-to-Assets Ratio
The equity-to-assets ratio measures bank capitalization. This ratio reached a low of 5.72% in 1974 and increased to 11.36% by 2019, reflecting post-2008 regulatory capital requirements. The ratio declined to 10.11% in 2025 as asset growth outpaced equity accumulation.
Equity-to-Assets Ratio
| Year | Equity Ratio | Year | Equity Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | 5.72% | 2008 | 9.43% |
| 1980 | 5.83% | 2015 | 11.27% |
| 1990 | 6.48% | 2019 | 11.36% |
| 2000 | 8.56% | 2025 | 10.11% |
Calculated: Total Equity / Total Assets. Industry aggregate.
8. Aggregate Net Income
Total industry net income shows significant cyclical variation. The industry recorded an aggregate loss of $11.3 billion in 2009, the only negative year in the dataset. Peak profitability occurred in 2021 at $280.3 billion.
Commercial Banking Industry Net Income (USD Billions)
Year-to-date net income from Q4 Call Reports. 2009 is the only loss year on record.
The 1987 low of $4.5 billion reflects large loan loss provisions related to Latin American debt exposures. The 2009 loss resulted from elevated charge-offs on residential and commercial real estate loans.
9. Total Employment
Total employment at FDIC-insured commercial banks remained relatively stable despite consolidation. Employment was 1.54 million in 1980 and 2.07 million in 2025. Average employees per bank increased from 104 in 1980 to 458 in 2025.
Commercial Bank Employment
| Year | Total Employees | Banks | Avg per Bank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 1,541,000 | 14,752 | 104 |
| 1990 | 1,587,000 | 12,778 | 124 |
| 2000 | 1,737,000 | 8,836 | 197 |
| 2010 | 1,980,000 | 6,999 | 283 |
| 2025 | 2,068,000 | 4,519 | 458 |
Employment data from Call Reports num_employees field.
10. Decade Summary
The following table summarizes key metrics by decade, showing the trajectory of consolidation, asset growth, and profitability across 65 years of Call Reports data.
US Commercial Banking by Decade
| Decade | Peak Banks | End Assets | Avg Net Income | NPL High |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 13,806 | $0.62T | $2.9B | N/A |
| 1970s | 14,716 | $1.84T | $9.2B | N/A |
| 1980s | 14,752 | $3.54T | $14.5B | 3.29% |
| 1990s | 12,778 | $6.02T | $46.0B | 3.81% |
| 2000s | 8,836 | $12.17T | $82.5B | 5.52% |
| 2010s | 6,999 | $18.66T | $153.0B | 4.90% |
| 2020s | 5,050 | $24.56T | $256.0B | 1.19% |
NPL data available from 1984. 2020s figures through Q1 2025.
Data Observations
The Call Reports dataset documents several structural shifts in U.S. commercial banking between 1959 and 2025:
- Consolidation: Bank count declined 69% from 1980 peak while total assets increased 1,124%.
- Concentration: Top 10 bank asset share increased from 27.7% (1980) to 52.6% (2025).
- Loan Mix: Real estate loans increased from 32.6% to 47.0% of total loans; C&I loans declined from 35.7% to 18.7%.
- Capital: Equity-to-assets ratio nearly doubled from 5.72% (1974) to 10.11% (2025).
- Profitability: Industry net income increased from single-digit billions (1960s) to $270+ billion (2024).
Methodology
This analysis uses the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Balance Sheets and Income Statements of Commercial Banks dataset. The dataset contains 2,544,226 quarterly observations from 24,716 unique FDIC-insured commercial banks, spanning Q4 1959 to Q1 2025 (data through March 31, 2025). All metrics are calculated from Call Reports variables as defined in the NY Fed data dictionary. Dollar figures are nominal. Banks are tracked using Finleet Universal Identifiers (FUIDs), which normalize regulatory identifiers (including RSSD IDs, FDIC certificates, and charter histories) into a single persistent entity across mergers, failures, and structural changes. Bank counts prior to 1970 may reflect incomplete dataset coverage in early Call Reports filings.
Data Source: Federal Reserve Bank of New York, "Balance Sheets and Income Statements of Commercial Banks" dataset. Q1 2025 Call Reports data.