Call Report

What is a Call Report?

A call report is a quarterly report known as the Consolidated Report of Condition and Income that all commercial banks and similar financial institutions in the United States are required to file at the end of each calendar quarter. The report, also referred to as the RC report, is required by the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), a government interagency authority tasked with prescribing uniform principles and standards for oversight of financial institutions in the U.S.

Understanding Call Reports

Banks that only keep offices within the U.S. are required to file Form FFIEC 041 (Domestic-only banks with assets of less than $5 billion file Form FFIEC 051). U.S. banks that also maintain offices abroad file Form FFIEC 031. The reports are filed with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Call reports are legally required, per Section 1817(a)(1) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act.

Savings and loan associations (more commonly known as “thrifts”) started filing call reports in 2012. Credit unions are also required to file quarterly call reports, but the reports are filed with the National Credit Union Administration rather than with the FDIC.

Call reports must be authorized and confirmed by the signatures of the bank’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and two directors or trustees of the bank. They are reviewed by financial analysts and checked for errors, omissions, and possible audit flags.

Banks were required to file quarterly call reports beginning in 2005. More than 6,000 banks across the U.S. file call reports each quarter.

Purpose of Call Reports

Call reports are a basic oversight tool for governmental authorities charged with regulating the banking industry. The collective call reports from all the various banks provide a picture of the financial stability and risk exposure of each bank and of the banking industry as a whole.

The quarterly reports comprise an income statement, a balance sheet statement, and numerous supporting schedules that detail income, expenses, assets, liabilities, and capital accounts.

Examination and collation of call reports assist the FDIC and other U.S. federal agencies in fulfilling their charged duties to ensure the soundness of financial institutions and of the overall U.S. financial system. They also serve to protect financial consumers and provide deposit insurance. The reports are used to calculate the deposit insurance assessments of each bank and the corresponding semi-annual assessment fees.

Call report data is also made available to, and used by, various economic researchers, bank rating agencies, the U.S. Congress, and state banking regulatory authorities. Call report forms are available through the FDIC’s website.

Attached Schedules

The supporting schedules that must be filed as part of a call report provide extremely detailed information on each financial institution’s operations and financial condition. Below is just a partial list of the required supporting schedules:

• RI-A – Changes in the bank’s equity capital
• RI-B – Charge-offs and recoveries on loans and leases
• RC-C, Part II – Loans made to small businesses and farms
• RC-D – Trading assets and liabilities
• RC-L – Derivatives and off-balance sheet items
• RC-N – Past due and nonaccrual loans
• RC-P – Residential mortgage banking loans
• RC-S – Asset sales

In addition to supplying the required financial statements and supporting schedule information, a financial institution can opt to provide an accompanying explanatory narrative statement that may provide additional insight regarding the reported information.

Additional Resources

CFI is the official provider of the Financial Modeling & Valuation Analyst (FMVA®) certification program, designed to transform anyone into a world-class financial analyst.

To keep learning and developing your knowledge of financial analysis, we highly recommend the additional resources below:

• Credit Union
• EDGAR
• Financial Exposure
• Types of SEC Filings
• See all accounting resources