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A relatively soft summer for the banking industry softened even more in August, sending American Banker's Index of Banking Activity (IBA) to its lowest level since January.

The IBA Composite Index dipped to 53.2 in August from a 55.4 reading in July. The August reading is the second-lowest since the IBA was launched in 2012, topping only the 52.7 level posted in January of this year.

Nearly every one of the IBA's components linked to the lending business gave up ground in the month. Components that track loan applications and approvals moved lower both on the consumer and commercial sides of the business and barely held above the 50-point mark. (The IBA is a diffusion index and scores above 50 indicate expansion.)

Also noteworthy in the August data was a sharp decline in respondents' local business conditions. The score for that component, which has not flashed a contraction in the history of the index, fell to 51.0 from 56.5 in the month.

The IBA has now posted three consecutive relatively tepid scores. September's survey could resolve whether those reflect a seasonal swoon or the start of a more challenging period for the industry.

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Receiving Wide Coverage ...Opening bid: The Justice Department has proposed that Deutsche Bank pay $14 billion to settle a series of mortgage-backed securities investigations dating back to the financial crisis, "a number that would rank among the largest of what other banks have paid to resolve similar claims and is well above what investors have been expecting," the Wall Street Journal reported. The figure is preliminary, and it's unclear how much of that proposed amount would be paid in cash and how much might be in consumer relief. Regardless, the bank said it "has no intent to settle these potential civil claims anywhere near the number cited. The negotiations are only just beginning," adding that it expects to settle at a "materially lower" amount.