U.S. FIs had significant credit problems in the 1980s and into 1990. In the early 1980s problems
in residential and farm mortgages, particularly in certain regions of the economy, led to the
failures of many banks and S&Ls. S&Ls had difficulties with junk bond holdings in the latter
part of the 1980s. Problems in commercial real estate and LDC loans developed and hurt the
profitability of both the banking and thrift industries. In the 1990s there were worries about high
credit card debt levels, major defaults in Russia and moratoriums on debt repayments in
Indonesia and Malaysia. The end of the 1990s saw improvements in the credit quality of most
bank loan portfolios however and the level of nonperforming loans (loans 90 days or more past
due or not accruing interest) and loss reserves declined. The recession in the early part of this
century reversed these trends, but as the economy improved in the mid 2000s loss rates again
fell, particularly on C&I loans as corporations improved their balance sheet positions
dramatically and began to hold large cash balances. Personal bankruptcy filings have continued
to grow, but recent changes in bankruptcy laws slowed this trend until the financial crisis
increased the number of bankruptcies (see Chapter 19 for data). Overseas, in 2001 Argentina
defaulted on $130 billion of government issued debt and in September 2003 defaulted on a $3
billion loan from the IMF. In 2005 Argentina unilaterally announced it would pay only $0.30 per
dollar on loans and bonds outstanding from its 2001 debt restructuring. In June 2014 a U.S.
court of appeals ruled that Argentina could not repay its restructured debt without paying in full
the holdouts to the restructuring deal. As of this writing Argentina is refusing to comply with the
court order.1
Mortgage delinquency rates increased dramatically beginning in the last quarter of 2006 and
remained high through 2007. Foreclosure filings increased 93% in July 2007 from the same
month in the prior year. Insured institutions set aside a record $31.3 billion in provision for loan
losses in the fourth quarter of 2007 and one quarter of all institutions larger than $10 billion
reported a net loss for the quarter. Institutions associated with subprime lending and those with
significant trading activity had the largest earnings declines. Net charge offs (NCOs) rose to 5
year highs in the fourth quarter as well reaching $16.2 billion, up from $8.5 billion in the fourth
quarter of 2006. NCOs on residential mortgages increased 144.2% and NCOs on home equity
lines increased 378.4% while charge offs on credit card loans were up 33% and charge offs on
loans to individuals increased 58.4%.2 This made the annual ROA at 0.86% the lowest since
1991. In the first quarter of 2008 new loan volume in the riskier parts of the lending market fell
dramatically with some parts of the market dropping upwards of 80%-90%. These areas
included collateralized loan obligations, loans funding LBOs and high yield bonds. Banks were
also beginning to restrict higher quality lending. For instance, as banks focused on capital
restoration credit lines less than one year became increasingly popular as they carry lower capital
requirements.3
1 Argentina says it has no team for talks in debt battle, by Alexandra Ulmer and Jorge Otaola,
Reuters, June 19, 2014,
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/19/us-argentina-debt-idUSKBN0ET1RK20140619
2Source: FDIC Quarterly Banking Profile
3“1Q08 U.S. Loan Market Review: Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up To Me,” Press
Release of the Loan Pricing Corporation, March 28, 2008, www.loanpricing.com.