Iowa banks ended 2018 in strong position

Iowa-chartered banks ended 2018 with strong results, recording a 5.05 percent increase in total loans and the same level of loan delinquencies as the previous year.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Thursday reported banks chartered in Iowa provided $62 billion in total loans to businesses, farmers and consumers last year.

Loan quality remains strong with net charge-offs at 0.11 percent, compared to 0.15 percent in 2017.

Non-current loans - those 90 days or more past due and not accruing interest - amounted to 0.62 percent of total loans in 2018, unchanged from the previous year.

John Sorensen, president and CEO of the Iowa Bankers Association, said in a news release that Iowa banks are continuing to see the benefits of the nation's second-longest economic expansion on record.

'Our community banks are benefiting from higher revenue and a lower effective tax rate, allowing them to keep a greater percentage of each dollar earned for local investment,” Sorenson said.

'This means Iowans are benefiting from a healthy, competitive banking industry.”

Net income for the Iowa banking industry nationwide was nearly $1.1 billion for 2018, and total assets were more than $86 billion.