All told, over the 12 months ended March 31, total loan and lease balances increased by 6.9%, the highest 12-month growth rate for loan portfolios since the mid-year 2007 to mid-year 2008 period.

Community Banks Rock the Quarter with 8.9% Loan Growth

But the real activity was by community banks where loan growth for the past 12 months has been 8.9%.

Loan growth at community banks was led by an 11.9% increase in commercial real estate loans, FDIC reported. That was followed by an 8.6% increase in C&I loans, and a 5% increase in 1-4 family residential mortgages.

WASHINGTON, DC—Commercial and community banks continue to increase their commercial real estate lending during the first quarter of 2016, according to recent figures from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. But while commercial banks posted a slight 1.6% increase, community bank lending for commercial real estate rose by 11.9%, the figures show.

Indeed, community banks were the darlings among insured institutional bank lending for the quarter: Net income grew considerably from a year earlier, as FDIC Chairman Martin J. Gruenberg noted in a prepared statement with the release of the data. Revenue growth, loan growth and net interest margins as well were appreciably higher than the overall industry. One reason was likely their lower exposure to the oil and gas producers, both in trading operations and direct loans. Such transactions tend to be the domain of larger institutions and as the Q1 figures show, larger banks did take a hit from this sector.

Total Loans, Lease Balances Rise by 6.9%

Here is the FDIC's breakdown for the quarter: Total loans and leases increased by $99.7 billion, or 1.1%, during the first three months of 2016. C&I loans increased by $71.2 billion, or 3.9%. Real estate loans increased by $20.3 billion, or 1.6% and 1-to-4 family residential mortgage loans rose by $14.3 billion, or 0.7%. The FDIC did note that acquisitions of commercial finance businesses from outside the industry contributed to the strong growth in reported C&I loan balances.

All told, over the 12 months ended March 31, total loan and lease balances increased by 6.9%, the highest 12-month growth rate for loan portfolios since the mid-year 2007 to mid-year 2008 period.

Community Banks Rock the Quarter with 8.9% Loan Growth

But the real activity was by community banks where loan growth for the past 12 months has been 8.9%.

Loan growth at community banks was led by an 11.9% increase in commercial real estate loans, FDIC reported. That was followed by an 8.6% increase in C&I loans, and a 5% increase in 1-4 family residential mortgages.