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America’s biggest banks are facing a surge in delinquent loans, according to a new report.
US banks’ commercial and industrial loan delinquencies jumped in Q4 of 2024 while the total value of the loans dipped, reports S&P Global.
Delinquent C&I loans rose by approximately 6.4% from the previous quarter and 19.8% year over year, reaching $31.04 billion – with a delinquency ratio of 1.31%.
This marks a significant uptick in sour loans, with major players like JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs now collectively saddled with $11.8582 billion in delinquent C&I loans.
The overall C&I loan balance across US banks fell 5.2% quarter over quarter and 4.3% year over year to $2.371 trillion, partially due to a classification change excluding margin loans from the C&I category.
Despite the decline in total loans, the rise in delinquencies signals growing stress in the commercial sector, and bank executives have noted muted lending demand and cautious borrower behavior.
JPMorgan Chase COO Jennifer Piepszak says much of the recent activity has been refinancing rather than new loan growth, attributing it to a “wait-and-see” approach among businesses.
Meanwhile, U.S. Bancorp CFO John Stern points to “pockets of growth” in corporate and middle-market lending but emphasized that growth remains inconsistent, with the potential for more economic clarity in the second half of the year.
