In 2002, there were 284 insured banks in Nebraska, of which 195 were state-chartered. Insured banks held assets of $47.9 billion.
As of 2002, severe drought conditions in Nebraska, along with low crop prices, left many farm banks holding significant levels of debt as loan delinquency levels increased.
In the 1990s and into the 2000s, net interest margins (NIMs) (the difference between the lower rates offered to savers and the higher rates charged on loans) declined, due in large measure to loan and funding competition. As of 2002, the lowering of interest rates by the Federal Reserve caused fluctuations in NIMs, but did not signal an end to the longer-term downward trend of NIMs.