Oklahoma banking numbers flat

"Total assets are pretty flat over last three years. Loans are pretty flat," Beverage said. "It's a reflection of the fact that a lot of borrowers are simply hunkering down and waiting to see what the future holds. There's still a lot of uncertainly that I think affects people's mindsets about the economy, taxes, any number of things."

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Tuesday issued second-quarter numbers for the commercial banks and savings institutions it insures. Nationally, banks generated a $21.6 billion profit, reversing a $4.4 billion loss of the same period last year.

Oklahoma's FDIC-insured institutions reported net income of $129 million in the second quarter, down from $173 million in the year-ago quarter. Total assets and total loans of those banks also decreased slightly.

"I think the message is the recession has finally hit home here in Oklahoma. That's the bad news," Beverage said. "The good news is the numbers also reflect very strong equity capital and profitability numbers for Oklahoma banks, even though most things have been flat."

Growth in the value of "other" real estate owned by banks is evidence that some borrowers have been unable to repay loans, and property is defaulting to lenders, Beverage said.