Idaho Banks

Idaho banks' return on assets of 1.36% in Q1 2026 declined 7 basis points from 1.43% in Q4 2025 but rose 13 basis points from 1.23% a year earlier. The metric sits 16 basis points above the national benchmark of 1.20%, marking Idaho as a profitability leader among FDIC-insured banks. The QoQ decline of 7 basis points is modest relative to the YoY expansion of 13 basis points, indicating the profitability trend remains positive on a longer horizon despite quarter-to-quarter volatility. The deceleration from Q4 2025 to Q1 2026 suggests the profitability expansion is slowing, not accelerating.

Two drivers underpin Idaho banks' profitability performance. First, net interest margin of 4.13% in Q1 2026 rose 22 basis points YoY from 3.91% and expanded 5 basis points QoQ from 4.08%. The 31 basis point spread above the national NIM of 3.82% reflects Idaho banks' structural advantage in deposit mix: noninterest-bearing deposits at 28.05% of total deposits sit 6.45 percentage points above the national 21.60%, reducing funding costs. The QoQ NIM expansion of 5 basis points is a fraction of the YoY pace of 22 basis points, signaling the margin-widening trend is decelerating. Second, the efficiency ratio of 58.29% in Q1 2026 improved 4.02 percentage points YoY from 62.30% and 7 basis points QoQ from 58.36%, sitting 5.86 percentage points below the national 64.14%. The YoY efficiency improvement of 4.02 percentage points is substantial and suggests Idaho banks are managing noninterest expense discipline as revenue growth moderates.

National specialization data show Credit Card specialists post NIM of 13.80%, 9.99 percentage points above the national 3.82%, and ROA of 2.26%, while Mortgage specialists trail at 0.66% ROA and 3.19% NIM. Idaho's 10-bank cohort lacks the granularity for specialization stratification, but the 4.13% NIM and 1.36% ROA suggest a Commercial or Agricultural lending orientation rather than Mortgage or Credit Card concentration. The efficiency ratio at 58.29% aligns more closely with International specialists at 57.89% and Credit Card specialists at 54.43% than with Mortgage specialists at 76.96%, indicating Idaho banks are operating with above-average cost discipline relative to the national Commercial bank average of 64.09%.

Idaho banks' asset growth accelerated to 7.78% in Q1 2026 from 4.92% in Q4 2025, a 58.24 percentage point acceleration, and from 6.67% a year earlier, a 16.68 percentage point acceleration. The 7.78% YoY growth rate sits 2.63 percentage points above the national benchmark of 5.15%, marking Idaho as a growth leader among FDIC-insured banks. The QoQ acceleration of 58.24 percentage points is dramatic and substantially exceeds the YoY acceleration of 16.68 percentage points, indicating the growth trend is intensifying sharply rather than stabilizing. The Q1 2026 asset-growth rate of 7.78% is the highest in the series shown for Idaho banks.

Loan growth of 9.81% in Q1 2026 decelerated 7.39 percentage points from 10.60% in Q4 2025 but accelerated 3.78 percentage points from 9.46% a year earlier. The 9.81% YoY loan-growth rate sits 3.61 percentage points above the national 6.20%, indicating Idaho banks are expanding loan portfolios faster than the broader industry. The QoQ deceleration of 7.39 percentage points contrasts with the YoY acceleration of 3.78 percentage points, suggesting loan-growth momentum remains positive on a longer horizon despite quarter-to-quarter volatility. Deposit growth of 7.69% in Q1 2026 accelerated 34.83 percentage points from 5.70% in Q4 2025 but decelerated 25.96 percentage points from 10.38% a year earlier. The 7.69% YoY deposit-growth rate sits 2.67 percentage points above the national 5.02%. The QoQ deposit-growth acceleration of 34.83 percentage points is substantial and mechanically explains the asset-growth acceleration: deposits are the primary funding source for asset expansion.

The deposit-growth deceleration of 25.96 percentage points YoY from 10.38% to 7.69% is notable and signals Idaho banks are facing deposit-franchise headwinds relative to the prior-year period. The QoQ deposit-growth acceleration of 34.83 percentage points from 5.70% to 7.69% is a reversal of the YoY trend and suggests Q4 2025 was an anomalously weak deposit-growth quarter rather than the start of a sustained slowdown. The loan-to-deposit ratio of 73.00% in Q1 2026, up 2.40 percentage points QoQ and 1.39 percentage points YoY, reflects the mechanical outcome of loan growth outpacing deposit growth on a QoQ basis. National specialization data show Agricultural banks at 21.3% of the FDIC universe; Idaho's growth profile and elevated NIM relative to national averages suggest potential Agricultural or Commercial lending concentration, though the 10-bank cohort lacks granular specialization breakouts.

Idaho banks' delinquency rate held stable at 0.81% in Q1 2026, unchanged from 0.81% in Q4 2025, but rose 70 basis points from 0.11% a year earlier. The 0.81% delinquency rate sits 11 basis points above the national benchmark of 0.70%, marking the first time in the series shown that Idaho banks' delinquency exceeds the national average. The QoQ stability at 0.81% indicates the delinquency trend has plateaued after the sharp YoY increase of 70 basis points, though the elevated level relative to the prior-year 0.11% warrants monitoring. The YoY increase of 70 basis points is substantial and represents a seven-fold rise in delinquency from the 0.11% level a year earlier.

The nonperforming-asset ratio of 0.46% in Q1 2026 was stable at 1 basis point above the 0.45% in Q4 2025 but rose 40 basis points from 0.06% a year earlier. The 0.46% NPA ratio sits 5 basis points below the national 0.51%, indicating Idaho banks' nonperforming assets remain below the national average despite the YoY increase. The QoQ stability of 1 basis point and the YoY increase of 40 basis points track the delinquency trend closely, suggesting the rise in delinquency is flowing through to nonperforming status rather than being resolved through workout or charge-off. The Tier 1 capital ratio of 16.15% in Q1 2026 rose 36 basis points from 15.78% in Q4 2025 and 67 basis points from 15.48% a year earlier, sitting 1.89 percentage points above the national 14.26%. The YoY capital-ratio increase of 67 basis points indicates Idaho banks are building capital buffers as delinquency rises, a prudent risk-management posture.

National specialization data show Credit Card specialists post delinquency of 2.57%, 187 basis points above the national 0.70%, while Agricultural banks post 0.63% delinquency, 7 basis points below national. Idaho's 0.81% delinquency sits between the Commercial bank average of 0.72% and the Consumer bank average of 0.57%, suggesting a mixed portfolio rather than a single-specialization concentration. The YoY delinquency increase from 0.11% to 0.81% is sharp and exceeds the national YoY trend, though the 16.15% Tier 1 capital ratio provides a 1.89 percentage point cushion above the national 14.26%. If delinquency holds stable at 0.81% rather than continuing to rise, the elevated capital ratio positions Idaho banks to absorb credit losses without material stress.

Idaho banks' loan-to-deposit ratio reached 73.00% in Q1 2026, up 2.40 percentage points from 70.60% in Q4 2025 and 1.39 percentage points from 71.61% a year earlier. The ratio remains 3.37 percentage points below the national benchmark of 76.38%, indicating a more liquid balance-sheet posture than the broader FDIC-insured universe. Both the QoQ and YoY increases signal accelerating deployment of deposits into earning assets, though the pace of QoQ expansion (+2.40 pp) exceeded the YoY pace (+1.39 pp), suggesting the trend is intensifying rather than stabilizing.

The LDR increase is mechanically driven by loan growth outpacing deposit growth on a QoQ basis: loan growth decelerated to 9.81% in Q1 2026 from 10.60% in Q4 2025, while deposit growth accelerated to 7.69% from 5.70%. Year-over-year, the pattern reverses: loan growth of 9.81% in Q1 2026 accelerated from 9.46% a year earlier, while deposit growth of 7.69% decelerated from 10.38%. The QoQ loan-growth deceleration of 7.39 percentage points was more than offset by deposit-growth acceleration of 34.83 percentage points, compressing the funding cushion. Noninterest-bearing deposit share fell to 28.05% in Q1 2026 from 29.44% in Q4 2025, a 1.39 percentage point decline, though the YoY change was negligible at 6 basis points from 27.99%. Idaho banks' NIB share of 28.05% sits 6.45 percentage points above the national 21.60%, a persistent structural advantage in low-cost funding.

Net interest income as a percentage of average assets fell to 0.12% in Q1 2026 from 0.58% in Q4 2025, a 46 basis point decline, and sits 20 basis points below the national 0.32%. Year-over-year, the metric was stable at 0.11% versus 0.12%, a negligible 1 basis point increase. The QoQ compression is sharp and warrants monitoring, though the YoY stability suggests the Q4 2025 reading may have been an outlier rather than a sustainable trend. The combination of rising LDR, declining NIB share, and compressed NII-to-assets ratio indicates Idaho banks are deploying liquidity into loans while managing deposit-mix pressure, a typical late-cycle balance-sheet posture.