After declining for ten straight quarters, U.S. bank margins rebounded in the third quarter. The banking industry’s aggregate net interest margin rose to 2.51% in the third quarter, up six basis points from the prior quarter. The industry’s loan yield rose to 4.34% in the third quarter from 4.25% in the second quarter but was down from 4.39% a year ago. Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) forgiveness bolstered yields on commercial and industrial credits, which jumped to 4.19% in the third quarter, up 29 basis points from the linked quarter and 71 basis points from a year earlier.

by Laura Fox