Chart 2b. The title is "Net Interest Margins for Large and Mid-Sized Banks".

NIMs for large and midsized banks have remained relatively steady over the past 13 years. In 1990, median NIMs were valued at 4.10%, rose slightly to 4.54% in 1992 and then gently decreased over the past 10 years to a value of 4.19% in 2002. There was sharp decline between 2002 and 2003 when the value of median NIMs made a sudden drop to 3.91%. Median Risk-Adjusted NIMs followed the same pattern. Valued at 3.72% in 1990, the value rose to 4.35% in 1994 and then steadily declined to 3.87% in 2002. Between 2002 and 2003, the value dropped below its original value to 3.63%.