Biggest U.S. Banks Keep Assets at Safest Level in 35 Years
- Cash, safe securities account for 35%-plus of balance sheets
- Banks ‘flooded with deposits’ but are unable to lend: analyst
This article is for subscribers only.
The largest banks haven’t been this cautious with their holdings in at least 35 years.
Cash, Treasuries and other securities effectively guaranteed by the federal government now make up more than 35% of the combined balance sheets of the 25 biggest U.S. banks, according to data compiled by the Federal Reserve. That’s the biggest share in records going back to 1985, and is 5.5 percentage points higher than the five-year average.