PNC

Is PNC Bank safe?

Yes, for money within the FDICDeposit insuranceA government-backed scheme that repays bank customers up to a set limit if their bank fails, such as the FDIC in the US or the FSCS in the UK.More in the glossary limit, and PNC is among the cleaner large US banks on conduct. PNC Bank, National Association is FDIC-insured, earned $2.1 billion in the second quarter of 2026 and has deposit ratings in the AA range from Moody's and Fitch. We score it 78/100. The weaker points are funding and capital: its liquidity coverage ratioLiquidity coverage ratioA bank's cash and easy-to-sell assets compared with the money that could flow out in a 30-day crisis. It must be at least 100%.More in the glossary averaged 106% in Q2 2026, close to the 100% floor, about 45% of its deposits are above the insurance limit, and its CET1CET1 ratioA bank's highest-quality capital (mainly shares and retained profits) as a share of its risk-weighted assets. Higher means more room to absorb losses.More in the glossary buffer shrank after the FirstBank purchase.

How strong is PNC's capital?

PNC's CET1 ratioCET1 ratioA bank's highest-quality capital (mainly shares and retained profits) as a share of its risk-weighted assets. Higher means more room to absorb losses.More in the glossary was 9.9% at 30 June 2026, down from 10.6% at the end of 2025 because it bought FirstBank, a Colorado bank, in January 2026. Its requirement is 7.0%: the 4.5% minimum plus a stress capital buffer of 2.5%, the lowest buffer the Federal Reserve sets, which means PNC came through the Fed's stress test well. The 2.9-point cushion is smaller than U.S. Bank's 3.7 points or Capital One's 4.7 points.

Like other banks of its size, PNC leaves unrealised losses on bonds out of its CET1 ratio. That flatters the ratio a little compared with JPMorgan or Bank of America, which must count them.

PNC Bank	Moody's	S&P	Fitch	DBRS
Senior debt	A2	A	A+	AA
Long-term deposits	Aa3	no rating	AA	AA

All four agencies had a stable outlook at 30 June 2026.

Uninsured deposits and liquidity

This is the factor to watch. PNC Bank held $458 billion of deposits in June 2026, and the call report estimates $205 billion of it was uninsured. That is a lower share than at U.S. Bank, about 53%, but far higher than at Capital One, about 15%. Business and wealthy clients hold most of the uninsured money, and that is the money that left Silicon Valley Bank and First Republic in 2023.

PNC got through that spring without a run. Its liquidity coverage ratioLiquidity coverage ratioA bank's cash and easy-to-sell assets compared with the money that could flow out in a 30-day crisis. It must be at least 100%.More in the glossary, which measures high-quality liquid assets against 30 days of stressed outflows, averaged 106% in the second quarter of 2026. It passes, but with far less room than Capital One's 165%.

Fines and the 2025 breach claims

PNC's enforcement record is short. In May 2018 the OCC fined PNC Bank $15 million after it found the bank had not waived annual, origination and overdraft-transfer fees as its disclosures promised, and had made overdraft-protection transfers later than its online terms said. The OCC issued a separate penalty for flood-insurance violations the same day. Mortgage-servicing consent orders from the 2010–11 foreclosure scandal were closed by the OCC in 2015. We found no money-laundering case or fake-accounts scandal of the kind seen at Wells Fargo.

In September 2025 a criminal group claimed on a dark web forum to be selling 740,000 PNC customer records, and law firms filed a class action. PNC said on 26 September 2025 that the claims were false and that law firms had linked them to a minor mailing error reported in Massachusetts. No regulator has said a breach occurred.

Bailout and acquisitions

PNC took $7.6 billion of TARP capital in December 2008, as it was buying National City, and repaid it in February 2010. The Treasury also sold its PNC warrants for $320 million, so taxpayers made money. Since then PNC has grown by buying banks: RBC's US arm in 2012, BBVA USA in 2021 and FirstBank in 2026. Each deal brought system conversions, which is when customers most often hit problems with logins, payments and statements.

How to keep your money safe at PNC

• Keep personal deposits under $250,000 per ownership category. Joint accounts and properly set up trust accounts have their own limits, so check them with the FDICDeposit insuranceA government-backed scheme that repays bank customers up to a set limit if their bank fails, such as the FDIC in the US or the FSCS in the UK.More in the glossary's EDIE tool.
• If you had accounts at FirstBank or BBVA USA as well as PNC, remember they are all one bank now and share one limit.
• Use PNC's alerts for every transfer and card payment, and set Zelle limits low if you rarely use it.
• PNC will not ask you to move money to "protect" it. Hang up and call the number on your card.

How we scored it

Deposit protectionDeposit insuranceA government-backed scheme that repays bank customers up to a set limit if their bank fails, such as the FDIC in the US or the FSCS in the UK.More in the glossary (85) and stability (82) are the strongest factors, for FDIC cover at a profitable bank that repaid TARP early. Liquidity (70) is the weakest, with an LCRLiquidity coverage ratioA bank's cash and easy-to-sell assets compared with the money that could flow out in a 30-day crisis. It must be at least 100%.More in the glossary just above 100% and a large share of uninsured deposits. Capital (76) is solid but not wide. For a lower-uninsured-deposit peer, see Capital One.