Bank executives expect a more challenging operating environment over the coming year, with continued pressure on funding costs and little improvement anticipated in loan demand, according to a new survey conducted by fintech IntraFi.

In the poll, 87% of respondents said they expect their funding costs to increase over the next 12 months, up 84 points from the reading recorded in the third quarter of 2025. Funding costs—the expense banks incur on deposits and other borrowings—are a core driver of bank profitability, since they set the price of the money banks lend out.

“Bankers are facing pressure on both sides of the balance sheet,” said Mark Jacobsen, CEO and cofounder of IntraFi. “The challenge is how to pursue growth without sacrificing profitability or stretching balance sheets. That puts a premium on disciplined pricing, strong customer relationships, and flexibility in how banks fund their business.”

IntraFi's third-quarter Bank Executive Business Outlook Survey was conducted online from October 5 to October 19, 2026, and includes responses from 411 bank CEOs, presidents, CFOs, and COOs nationwide. As a quarterly poll spanning senior leadership roles across U.S. banks, its upcoming waves will provide a checkpoint on whether these expectations about funding costs, loan demand, and the economy hold or shift.

Bond market volatility is also shaping bankers' outlook. Over the next 12 months, 58% said the most significant potential effect of current long-term interest rates and bond market volatility on their securities portfolios would be higher funding costs or pressure on net interest margins. Another 16% pointed to further unrealized losses on securities that could limit capital flexibility. Net interest margin—the spread between what a bank earns on loans and securities and what it pays to fund those assets—is a core gauge of bank earnings. Unrealized losses emerge when the market value of bonds falls below their purchase price before a sale, and they can constrain capital deployment even though the loss is not yet realized.

Other key findings from the third-quarter survey include:

• Balance sheet strategy: 47% of executives are maintaining their current strategies, while 22% are accepting lower securities balances to make room for loans or cash and liquidity.
• Economy: 83% expect economic conditions to worsen or remain unchanged over the next 12 months.
• Access to capital: 78% expect access to capital to remain unchanged.
• Mortgages: 74% are not pursuing products or programs to help homeowners locked into low mortgage rates move or upgrade their homes.

The mortgage finding reflects the so-called lock-in effect, in which homeowners carrying mortgages at rates below current market levels face reduced incentive to sell or refinance.

The survey results were first reported by Global FinTech Series. Additional details about the methodology and complete findings are available on IntraFi's website.