Bloomberg reported that banks keep plowing their burgeoning deposits into U.S. government and related debt – pushing the industry’s holdings past $2 trillion – instead of lending it all out.

Bloomberg said that part of the buildup has to do with rules that require banks to hold more high-quality assets in the wake of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

Bloomberg notes that it also reflects that borrowers, particularly among Americans scarred by the housing bust, are still repairing their finances rather than going into debt to splurge on big-ticket items. And that, may mean the U.S. recovery isn’t quite as robust as all the upbeat data would suggest, Bloomberg said.

To read the entire Bloomberg report, click here.