How to calculate core deposits

Core deposits are a bank's stable, lower-cost deposits. No statute defines them. Examiners use the Uniform Bank Performance Report definition: transaction accounts, money market and other savings deposits, and time deposits of $250,000 or less, minus fully insured brokered deposits of $250,000 or less. Many banks also keep their own internal definition, which is where reports start to differ.

The same bank can report three core deposit figures: one for regulators, one for investors and one for ALCO.

Why core deposits matter

1. They signal funding stability to examiners, analysts and boards.
2. They drive liquidity planning and funding cost forecasts.
3. They value a bank's franchise in an acquisition.

The gray area

1. Regulatory or internal? The UBPR definition, or a policy definition that may also exclude large uninsured balances?
2. Reciprocal deposits. A 2018 law lets qualifying banks treat a capped amount of reciprocal deposits as not brokered. Do yours count as core?
3. Sweep balances. Are sweep accounts counted as deposits, or excluded?
4. Large or rate-sensitive balances. Do concentrated or high-rate accounts belong in core?
5. Average or ending balances? Average balances smooth quarter-end swings.
6. Commercial vs consumer. Does the core deposits figure need a segment split?

Core principles

1. Keep the regulatory definition separate and report it as defined.
2. Name the internal variant and document what it adds or excludes.
3. Use the same balance type across board, ALCO and investor reports.
4. Give each classification an owner, such as which products count as brokered or reciprocal.

Calculating core deposits in one system

1. Pull deposit balances by product from the core.
2. Classify each product as transaction, savings, money market or time.
3. Split time deposits at $250,000.
4. Identify brokered deposits and subtract fully insured brokered deposits of $250,000 or less.
5. Apply any internal exclusions and report the two figures separately.

Calculating core deposits across systems

Product codes come from the core, brokered and reciprocal flags often sit in a separate deposit network or spreadsheet, and segment rules live in the CRM. After a merger, two cores classify the same products differently. Agree the classification rules once, map each system's product codes to them, and run the regulatory and internal figures from the same mapping.

How Preql helps

Preql maps how each system classifies deposit products and balances. Finance approves the definition of each core deposit figure, with an owner, version history and lineage back to source, so the regulatory and internal versions are both documented.

FAQ

Is there an official definition of core deposits?

Not in statute or regulation. Examiners use the UBPR definition.

Can we use our own definition?

Yes, for internal and investor reporting. Label it and don't mix it with the regulatory figure.

Talk to our team

Want one approved definition of core deposits across your reports? Book a call with our team.

What happens next: in a 30-minute call, you'll see where your numbers stop matching and why.

Sources

1. FFIEC, UBPR User's Guide: Liquidity and Funding