FDIC Report Finds Steep Rise in Bank Lending to Nonbank Financial Firms

Non-depository financial institutions, or NDFIs, include private equity firms, private credit providers, insurers and mortgage companies. They rely on bank funding for leverage and day-to-day liquidity, forging closer links between banks and the shadow-banking system. In a downturn, asset sales, declining collateral values and margin calls could transmit stress back to the banking sector.

The U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation released its 2026 Risk Review on April 22, 2026. Bank loans to NDFIs totaled $1.4 trillion as of December 31, 2025, equivalent to 5.6% of total banking-sector assets. The loans recorded a compound annual growth rate of 22.7% from 2010 through the fourth quarter of 2025 and rose 35.2% in 2025 alone. Banks with more than $100 billion in assets accounted for 86% of the outstanding balance.