US Banks Report $306,100,000 in Unrealized Losses As Number of Lenders in ‘Problem Banks List’ Jumps

The amount of unrealized losses on American banks’ balance sheets remains “elevated,” according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

In its new Quarterly Banking Profile for the fourth quarter of 2025, the FDIC says US banks reported $306.1 billion in unrealized losses on securities.

Unrealized losses are the difference between the price banks paid for securities and the current market value of those assets.

The banks’ unrealized losses on securities decreased by $31 billon, or 9.2%, from the prior quarter, and is the lowest level of unrealized losses since the first quarter of 2022.

The FDIC also says three banks were added to the “problem bank list,” bringing the total to 60.

“The number of problem banks was 1.4% of total banks, which is in the normal range for non-crisis periods of 1% to 2% of all banks. One bank opened and no banks failed during the fourth quarter.”

Problem banks receive a rating of 4 or 5 on the CAMELS rating system, indicating that the firm is experiencing financial, operational or managerial weaknesses.

Last year, US banks achieved record-setting profits of $295.6 billion, up 10% from 2024.

“The [profit] increase was driven by higher net interest income and higher non-interest income, which offset higher non-interest expense.”

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