North Carolina's state-chartered banks are better equipped than their national peers to handle bad credit loans losses, new federal figures show.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. says there are 93 FDIC-insured, state-chartered banks in North Carolina. Collectively, the banks' reserves for loan losses equal 87.6 percent of noncurrent loans and leases - those that are at least 90 days past due.

Across the country, that figure, commonly known as the coverage ratio, is 69.5 percent for state-chartered institutions. The national average, which includes federally chartered banks, is 85 percent.

Not all noncurrent loans go bad. But regulators like to see banks set aside money to deal with them, particularly in a worsening economic situation such as this one.

In North Carolina, regulators have historically pushed banks to be conservative with their lending and reserve policies. The FDIC is warning of falling coverage ratios across the country.

The conservative actions by N.C. banks do have a downside, though: When a bank sets aside reserves, its income shrinks. More than a third of state-chartered banks were unprofitable through the first nine months of the year, compared with 21 percent across the country.

Only 21 state-chartered banks in North Carolina saw an earnings increase through Sept. 30. Nationwide, 40 percent of state-chartered banks posted an increase.

Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/