OCC Reports Third Quarter Trading Revenue of $6.4 Billion

WASHINGTON—The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) reported trading revenue of U.S. commercial banks and savings associations of $6.4 billion in the third quarter 2017, $241 million, or 3.6 percent, lower than the previous quarter.

In the report, Quarterly Report on Bank Trading and Derivatives Activities, the OCC also noted that trading revenue in the third quarter 2017 decreased by 0.4 percent compared with the $6.4 billion reported in the third quarter 2016. Combined interest rate and foreign exchange (FX) revenue led the quarterly decrease, with revenue decreasing $743 million to $4.5 billion. Since dealers often use interest rate contracts to hedge exposures in FX derivatives, it is useful to view these categories collectively. The decrease in these categories was partially offset by an increase in the remaining trading revenue classes.

The OCC also reported:

• Trading risk, as measured by value-at-risk (VaR), decreased in the third quarter 2017. Total average VaR across the top five dealer banking companies decreased $17 million from the previous quarter, or 6.2 percent, to $256 million.
• The percentage of centrally cleared derivatives transactions increased to 39.6 percent in the third quarter 2017, up from 39 percent in the third quarter 2016.
• While the largest four banks held 90 percent of the total banking industry notional amount of derivatives, 1,391 U.S. commercial banks and savings associations held derivatives at the end of the third quarter 2017.

Related Link

• OCC's Quarterly Report on Bank Trading and Derivatives Activities: Third Quarter 2017