US bank loan growth has outpaced deposit growth for over a year, pushing the loan-to-deposit ratio to a March 2026 peak before a modest recent pullback
US bank deposits and loans have both grown steadily over the past eighteen months, but not at the same pace. Total deposits rose from $17,815bn in January 2025 to $19,435bn in July 2026 -- up roughly 9% over the window. Total loans and leases rose from $12,628bn to $13,854bn over the same period -- a similar magnitude of growth, but running consistently faster on a month-by-month basis. The result is a loan-to-deposit ratio that climbed fairly steadily from about 70.7% in early 2025 to a peak of 72.2% in March 2026, before easing back to roughly 71.8% over the most recent three months. That full trajectory -- a real, sustained rise followed by a modest recent pullback, not a single clean number -- is what this piece actually tracks, rather than a simplified before-and-after comparison that would understate both the peak and the recent reversal.
This article is available to Research Members.
Subscribe to continue reading, including full analysis and data.
View plansLoan growth has outpaced deposit growth every year since 2022 -- a steadily narrowing liquidity buffer, with a distinct dip-and-recovery cycle in business lending specifically
The Fed's balance sheet has flattened over the past six weeks after three years of runoff, while the ECB's keeps contracting -- launch edition of a new recurring Report
The ECB's Thursday decision, UK CPI, and Friday's flash PMIs across four major economies headline a calendar-light Monday but a data-heavy week