U.S. commercial banks added only $16 billion in loans and leases in November, pushing the industry's total average loan balance to $9.124 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve's Dec. 9 H.8 report. This was a much smaller increase than the $47.8 billion gain in October and the $41.4 billion gain in September.

Meanwhile, average total deposits at U.S. commercial banks picked up again after falling for the two previous months. The industry's average total deposits jumped by $35.6 billion to $11.386 trillion in November following a $6 billion drop and a $22.9 billion drop in October and September, respectively. Average deposits at foreign-related institutions increased by approximately $100 million in November but were still down by $210.5 billion year over year.

Click here to read last month's H.8 Data Dispatch. Click here to analyze historical financial metrics across individual banks and to view industry aggregates.