Banking and Payments Research

Research staff analyze domestic and international payments systems as well as the banking industry.

Recent Articles

Economic Review

Why Do Net Interest Margins Behave Differently across Banks as Interest Rates Rise?

Banks with declining net interest margins during the 2022–23 tightening cycle were more reliant on capital market funding.

Payments System Research Briefing

Core Banking Systems and Options for Modernization

Many depository institutions need to update their back-end IT “core systems” to offer modern banking services.

Economic Bulletin

Interest Expenses on Farmland Debt Could Challenge Farm Profitability

Crop producers with high levels of land debt may struggle to be profitable under higher interest expenses.

Economic Review

A Regional Indicator of Commercial Real Estate Activity: The KC Fed CRE Index

The KC Fed CRE Index summarizes a variety of changes in regional CRE conditions with minimal lags.

Economic Bulletin

Bank Deposit Rates Haven’t Kept Pace with Yields on Other Investments, but Depositors Are Staying

Spreads between bank deposit rates and yields on deposit substitutes are at historic highs.

Research Working Paper

Explaining the Life Cycle of Bank-Sponsored Money Market Funds

How banks and regulators react to each other helps explain how the money market fund industry has evolved.