The agriculture and energy sectors suffered dramatic declines during the 1980s in the Tenth Federal Reserve District. Bank asset quality also declined during this time period, particularly for farm banks. Using information on loan classifications and charge-offs, this study traces classified...

Bank credit, the sum of loans and securities at commercial banks, is widely viewed as providing information about the current and future state of the economy. Analysts have been concerned about the behavior of bank credit during the nation's recovery from the 1990-91 recession. At first,...

The banking industry has undergone substantial consolidation during the last 15 years, and that process has accelerated in the 1990s. One effect of this consolidation has been to greatly reduce the number of independent and locally owned banks. Some banks have been acquired by distant banking...

The average profitability of banks in Tenth District states edged up in 1987 after five years of decline. Agricultural banks showed the greatest recovery, combining faster loan growth with lower loan losses and higher profits.

Small businesses were widely recognized in the 1980s as the driving force behind economic growth. One benchmark study estimated that small firms accounted for 80 percent of all new jobs in the nation in the late 1970s. Analysts predicted that small businesses would continue to provide most new...

The structure of Colorado's banking industry has recently undergone significant change and, therefore, provides a good case study with which to gauge the impact of consolidation on sources of loans and access to credit for small business. We find that between 1994 and 1996, lending to small...

This issue of the Rocky Mountain Economist discusses how the unemployment rate is calculated and explores recent trends in the Mountain States’ unemployment rates.

This issue of the Rocky Mountain Economist explores the government sectors of Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming and measures the impact of recent government job losses on these mountain state economies.