Unlimited government insurance of noninterest-bearing deposits ended with 2012. Any shifting of cash from banks to money market funds has been modest so far.

Business borrowing from commercial banks appears to have jumped at an annual rate of 11% in the fourth quarter, reversing two quarters of fading momentum.

The KBW Bank Index, a group ranging in size from JPMorgan Chase to the $21 billion-asset Commerce Bancshares, rocketed back in 2012, outperforming the S&P 500 Index and recovering much of the ground it lost the year before. The momentum came mostly from names like B of A and Citi, whose shares snapped back after steep losses the year before.

Large numbers of yield-hungry banks have gorged on municipal bonds, and the industry’s overall holdings of the paper have edged up.

The worst performing bank stocks of the year didn't do all that bad. Over a six-year horizon, almost all of them have maintained their value well relative to the KBW Bank Index, a group ranging in size from JPMorgan Chase to the $21 billion-asset Commerce Bancshares. But consistent earnings and stable share prices were not enough in a 2012 where momentum came from names that snapped back after steep losses the year before.

Loan volume built on the turnaround that began in 2011. Business borrowing continued to lead the way, though momentum appeared to weaken as the year wore on. Meanwhile, other major loan categories notched gains for the first time in years, and mortgage production delivered large profits.

The landscape has changed radically in the last two decades. In most states, the number of banks has fallen sharply. But some states have emerged as storehouses for the nation's lending giants.

Deposits in accounts temporarily protected by unlimited insurance represented more than 10% of assets at more than 900 banks at Sept. 30

The jump in Bank of America’s Basel III capital ratio in the third quarter reflected favorable moves in rates and credit spreads, not retained earnings.

The expansion by small issuers comes as some of the biggest lenders continue to reengineer their businesses after being sideswiped during the recession, and amid weakness in consumer demand.

These banks have outperformed industry averages for years and continued to do so in 2012, avoiding the exceptional losses that often follow exceptional returns.

Willing sellers have pretty much replaced failed banks among targets with less than $1 billion of assets. Volume has perked up in other size classes simultaneously.

Sandy is likely to roil delinquencies in the next month or so, but issuers posted another round of strong reports for October.

Some banks bucked the trend and others buckled under it. Overall, about two-thirds of publicly listed banks posted quarter-over-quarter declines in margins during the most recent round of earnings reports.

Even before the recent increases, prices Fannie and Freddie charge for credit risk were far higher than when their share of originations was at a low.