2. It is relatively easy to find up-to-date information on banks because of their extensive reporting requirements. Go to http://www2.fdie.gov/qbp/. Sponsored by the Federal Deposit Insurance Cor- poration, this site offers summary data on finan- cial institutions. Go to the most recent Quarterly Banking Profile. Scroll to the bottom and open Table 1-A.

a. Have banks' return on assets been increasing or decreasing over the last few years?

b. Has the core capital been increasing, and how does it compare to the capital ratio reported in Table 1 in the text?

c. How many institutions are currently reporting to the FDIC?