North Carolina had 62 insured banks in 2002 with assets of $17.8 billion. Fifty-seven of those banks were state-chartered.
Net interest margins (NIMs) (the difference between the lower rates offered to savers and the higher rates charged on loans) improved for 38 insured banks in North Carolina in 2002, compared with 15 in 2001. Overall performance for community banks (those with less than $1 billion in assets) improved during 2002. Aggressive interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve in 2001/02 lowered banks' funding costs, but compressed NIMs. Even though the economy was weak in 2002, loan growth increased rapidly, especially in commercial real estate (CRE) loans.