This paper updates the 2012 FDIC Community Banking Study to reflect developments in the structure and performance of U.S. community banks through the end of 2012. It finds that while the community banking sector changed little in structural terms during the year, community banks showed continued improvement in financial performance following the disruptions associated with the recent financial crisis. Problem loans and failures declined among community banks in 2012, while their pretax profitability was the highest since 2007. While community banks hold just 14 percent of industry assets, they make up almost 95 percent of all U.S. banking organizations. The sector continues to hold nearly half of the industry’s small loans to farms and businesses, as well as the majority of deposits in U.S. rural and micropolitan counties.
Last Updated: January 1, 2013