Fitch Ratings is raising a red flag over the rapid growth of C&I loans, particularly those that have been originated by mid-tier regional and community banks, saying that these are at risk of deterioration as rates rise over the near to medium term.
Smaller banks have rushed into the C&I loan market in recent years to boost their asset growth. These loans have benefited from low rates, and therefore high credit quality in most cases.
However, Fitch has that Fed data on these loans shows that terms have been easing steadily since the end of 2010, and this raises concerns as banks become price- or terms-takers due to competition for deals.
Fitch says the potential problem is not imminent: “…at this stage of the current credit cycle, net charge-offs of C&I loans across the FDIC-insured universe remain at just 23 bps at the end of first-quarter 2014, while both 90-day past due loans and those on non-accrual status are also only 60 bps. Both of these measures are below the prior 30-year average of 0.98 percent and 2.25 percent, respectively.”
Fitch says that C&I loan balances rose by 6 percent, or $95 billion, at FDIC insured banks between first-quarter 2013 and first-quarter 2014, much higher than the overall loan growth of roughly 3 percent. The biggest jump has been among mid-tier banks, which saw a C&I growth rate of 13 percent.