OFR Releases 2016 Annual Report to Congress; Reveals Credit Extended Through "Shadow Banking" Exceeds That of Traditional Banks

Federal Issues Banking Dodd-Frank OFR Congress

On December 13, the Office of Financial Research (OFR) announced the release of both its 2016 Annual Report to Congress and its 2016 Financial Stability Report. The reports met the reporting requirements of the Dodd-Frank Act, including an analysis of: (i) threats to U.S. financial stability; (ii) key findings and insights from the OFR’s research; and (iii) the status of OFR efforts in meeting its mission. Among other things, the report noted the increasingly prominent role of shadow banking — “the extension of credit by nonbank companies, or credit funded by liabilities susceptible to runs because they are payable on demand and lack a government backstop.” According to the OFR, credit provided by the so-called shadow banking sector is presently higher than that of established banks. Indeed, OFR research indicates that credit from nonbank companies reached about $15.1 trillion as of the first quarter of 2016, thus making it "the major source of credit to U.S. businesses and households" — providing 38 percent of credit compared with banks' 32 percent.