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Banking

Loan-to-deposit ratio (LDR)

Loans divided by deposits: how much of its deposit base a bank has lent out.

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What does Loan-to-deposit ratio (LDR) mean?

The loan-to-deposit ratio is total loans divided by total deposits. Example: 850 of loans and 1,000 of deposits give an LDR of 85 percent. A low ratio can mean the bank is not putting its deposits to work and may earn less. A ratio above 100 percent means it funds some loans with wholesale borrowing, which is usually more expensive and less stable than deposits. What counts as healthy depends on the country and the bank's model.

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