Banking Conditions Survey
Special questions
Special Questions
February 2026
For this survey, respondents were asked supplemental questions on outlook concerns, loan performance, core deposits and lending standards. Data were collected Feb. 3-11, and 59 bankers responded to the survey.
1. What are the top three concerns around your institution’s outlook over the next six months, if any? Please rank in order of importance.
| Aug.'24 | Nov.'24 | Feb. '25 | May '25 | Aug. '25 | Nov. '25 | Feb. '26 | ||||
| Total (percent) |
Total (percent) |
Total (percent) |
Total (percent) |
Total (percent) |
Total (percent) |
Total (percent) |
Rank 1 (percent) |
Rank 2 (percent) |
Rank 3 (percent) |
|
| Financial/economic uncertainty | 43.8 | 38.8 | 27.5 | 64.2 | 57.1 | 44.8 | 35.6 | 8.5 | 11.9 | 15.3 |
| Loan demand | 24.7 | 20.9 | 23.2 | 29.9 | 25.7 | 25.4 | 32.2 | 8.5 | 16.9 | 6.8 |
| Fraud | 29.9 | 32.2 | 10.2 | 11.9 | 10.2 | |||||
| Liquidity/deposit volume | 49.3 | 28.4 | 42.0 | 29.9 | 34.3 | 29.9 | 28.8 | 16.9 | 6.8 | 5.1 |
| Cybersecurity | 26.0 | 28.4 | 39.1 | 31.3 | 34.3 | 29.9 | 28.8 | 15.3 | 6.8 | 6.8 |
| Competition for loans | 9.6 | 14.9 | 11.6 | 23.9 | 24.3 | 17.9 | 27.1 | 5.1 | 8.5 | 13.6 |
| Net interest margin | 46.6 | 49.3 | 44.9 | 22.4 | 28.6 | 34.3 | 25.4 | 10.2 | 8.5 | 6.8 |
| Difficulty hiring and/or retaining employees | 11.0 | 17.9 | 15.9 | 9.0 | 20.0 | 16.4 | 22.0 | 5.1 | 5.1 | 11.9 |
| Overall profitability | 15.1 | 23.9 | 27.5 | 19.4 | 15.7 | 14.9 | 15.3 | 5.1 | 6.8 | 3.4 |
| Regulatory burden | 37.0 | 53.7 | 37.7 | 25.4 | 22.9 | 17.9 | 15.3 | 5.1 | 6.8 | 3.4 |
| Stablecoins/cryptocurrency | 11.4 | 9.0 | 13.6 | 1.7 | 6.8 | 5.1 | ||||
| Noncurrent loans | 13.7 | 11.9 | 14.5 | 19.4 | 7.1 | 14.9 | 10.2 | 5.1 | 0.0 | 5.1 |
| Other | 9.6 | 0.0 | 1.4 | 11.9 | 2.9 | 6.0 | 6.8 | 3.4 | 1.7 | 1.7 |
| Commercial real estate risks | 6.8 | 6.0 | 7.2 | 6.0 | 11.4 | 7.5 | 5.1 | 0.0 | 1.7 | 3.4 |
| Unrealized losses on securities portfolio | 2.7 | 4.5 | 5.8 | 6.0 | 4.3 | 1.5 | 1.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.7 |
NOTES: 59 responses.
2. How concerned are you about the performance of the following categories in your loan portfolio, on a scale of 1 (not concerned at all) to 5 (extremely concerned)?
| 1 (not concerned at all) |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 (extremely concerned) |
|
| Percent of responses | |||||
| Commercial and industrial | 18.2 | 36.4 | 40.0 | 3.6 | 1.8 |
| Commercial real estate | 16.7 | 37.0 | 40.7 | 3.7 | 1.9 |
| Residential real estate | 21.8 | 43.6 | 21.8 | 12.7 | 0.0 |
| Consumer | 13.6 | 33.9 | 40.7 | 10.2 | 1.7 |
NOTES: 59 responses. This question was most recently posed in Nov. ’25.
3. How concerned are you about the performance of the following categories in your commercial real estate (CRE) loan portfolio, on a scale of 1 (not concerned at all) to 5 (extremely concerned)?
| 1 (not concerned at all) |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 (extremely concerned) |
|
| Percent of responses | |||||
| Construction and land development | 20.8 | 34.0 | 34.0 | 9.4 | 1.9 |
| Industrial | 32.1 | 30.2 | 34.0 | 1.9 | 1.9 |
| Retail | 18.9 | 35.8 | 37.7 | 5.7 | 1.9 |
| Multifamily | 25.5 | 23.5 | 33.3 | 17.6 | 0.0 |
| Office | 15.1 | 32.1 | 37.7 | 13.2 | 1.9 |
| Hotels/lodging | 20.8 | 22.6 | 49.1 | 7.5 | 0.0 |
| Other | 19.0 | 14.3 | 57.1 | 9.5 | 0.0 |
NOTES: 53 responses. This question was most recently posed in Nov. ’25.
4. Over the past six weeks, how has your volume of core deposits changed?
| Dec. '23 (percent) |
Mar. '24 (percent) |
Jun. '24 (percent) |
Oct. '24 (percent) |
Apr. '25 (percent) |
Sep. '25 (percent) |
Feb. '26 (percent) |
|
| Increased significantly | 4.8 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 4.1 | 3.2 | 1.5 | 1.7 |
| Increased slightly | 36.5 | 45.6 | 42.5 | 50.0 | 49.2 | 57.6 | 54.2 |
| No change | 25.4 | 26.5 | 28.8 | 32.4 | 27.0 | 22.7 | 20.3 |
| Decreased slightly | 31.7 | 23.5 | 26.0 | 10.8 | 20.6 | 18.2 | 20.3 |
| Decreased significantly | 1.6 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 2.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.4 |
NOTES: 59 responses.
5. Over the next six weeks, how do you expect your volume of core deposits to change?
| Dec. '23 (percent) |
Mar. '24 (percent) |
Jun. '24 (percent) |
Oct. '24 (percent) |
Apr. '25 (percent) |
Sep. '25 (percent) |
Feb. '26 (percent) |
|
| Increase significantly | 7.9 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 1.3 | 3.2 | 1.5 | 1.7 |
| Increase slightly | 49.2 | 41.2 | 47.2 | 54.7 | 43.5 | 58.2 | 56.9 |
| No change | 28.6 | 29.4 | 36.1 | 30.7 | 37.1 | 28.4 | 22.4 |
| Decrease slightly | 14.3 | 27.9 | 16.7 | 13.3 | 16.1 | 11.9 | 17.2 |
| Decrease significantly | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.7 |
NOTES: 58 responses.
6. To understand the current level of lending standards, consider the range of your institution’s lending standards (easiest to tightest) from 2015 to present. Using this range, how would you describe your institution’s current level of lending standards for the following loan categories?
| Near easiest level (percent) |
Significantly easier than midpoint (percent) |
Somewhat easier than midpoint (percent) |
Near midpoint (percent) |
Somewhat tighter than midpoint (percent) |
Significantly tighter than midpoint (percent) |
Near tightest level (percent) |
|
| Commercial and industrial | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5.7 | 50.9 | 32.1 | 7.5 | 3.8 |
| Commercial real estate | 0.0 | 1.9 | 5.7 | 52.8 | 32.1 | 5.7 | 1.9 |
| Residential real estate | 0.0 | 1.9 | 5.6 | 68.5 | 18.5 | 3.7 | 1.9 |
| Consumer | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.5 | 70.2 | 17.5 | 7.0 | 1.8 |
| Overall | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.6 | 63.6 | 23.6 | 5.5 | 3.6 |
NOTES: 57 responses. This question was most recently posed in June ’25.
Special Questions Comments
Survey participants are given the opportunity to submit comments. Some comments have been edited for grammar and clarity.
- I am very concerned that the government will allow reward programs for the cryptocurrency industry that will further cut into the community bank's deposits or funding source for loans in the communities we serve.
Questions regarding the Banking Conditions Survey can be addressed to Mariam Yousuf at mariam.yousuf@dal.frb.org.
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