Banks are starting 2026 with subtle but meaningful shifts in reserves and resolution frameworks that could unlock incremental lending capacity and reshape how distressed credit flows are marketed and priced.

Regional bank reserve movements suggest stabilizing credit trends — filings like Regions Financials 4Q25 disclosure show a modest provision alongside a slight reduction in allowance for credit losses (ACL) relative to total loans. This kind of trimming is consistent with asset‑quality stabilization narratives and can mechanically improve measured capacity for new lending. While specific quarter‑to‑quarter figures vary by institution, the trend points to cautious reserve normalization as delinquencies and loss expectations steady.

Regulators are enhancing failed‑bank sale transparency and flexibility — the FDIC has published new public templates and expanded guidance on the marketing and sale process for failing banks, including loan pools offered to asset buyers prior to failure. These resources cover key transaction documents (e.g., loan sale agreements, financing term sheets) and signal a deliberate shift toward more competitive, earlier engagement with nonbank buyers — a structural change from the historically sequential receivership model.

Emerging capital and regulatory reporting activity is worth watching — recent entries in the Federal Register reflect ongoing interagency reporting on accounting and capital standards, and related proposals (e.g., capital rule adjustments). While often technical, these notices shape supervisory expectations around capital measurement and can affect how balance‑sheet capacity is calculated and stress‑tested across banks.

In combination, these developments suggest incremental supply of loan inventory — from bank‑held portfolios and early‑stage loan pools — alongside tighter underwriting and regulatory discipline that will influence pricing, due diligence timing, and competitive dynamics between banks and capital investors.