Credit

But high costs and any downturn in the economy could weigh on lenders and their commercial borrowers in coming months, economists caution.

As the holiday shopping season approaches, late payments on credit cards have surpassed their pre-pandemic levels, according to a new VantageScore report. The consumers showing signs of deterioration include not only subprime borrowers, but also those with prime credit scores.

Washington Trust shares plunged after the Westerly, Rhode Island, company disclosed it booked an office deal in the third quarter, boosting the size of its portfolio while other lenders are pulling back.

Both loans and deposit balances have stabilized since the North Carolina bank acquired parts of the failed Silicon Valley Bank, paving the way for better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings guidance. The only blemish in the third quarter, one analyst said, was credit quality.

Other regional banks are vowing to cut costs, but Huntington Bancshares CEO Steve Steinour says the Columbus, Ohio-based lender is well positioned to "play offense" in 2024.

Questions about how it will be implemented and whether the rest of the market will follow the agency's lead make the expense involved difficult to estimate.

Worried about the economy and new Fed rules on capital, the bank wants to hang onto its money just in case, CFO Daryl Bible told investors as he outlined second-quarter earnings.

Charge-offs at the Detroit-based lender rose last quarter, as borrowers had a tougher time keeping up with their car payments. But so far, credit quality is staying within expectations, and company executives don't anticipate that the rest of the year will be much worse.

The Federal Reserve governor said consumer credit delinquency is returning to pre-pandemic levels, indicating a potential softening of economic activity.

It's been a rocky few years for senior housing as the sector recovers from its COVID occupancy drop and its profitability takes a hit. But bankers see long-term opportunities amid an aging U.S. population and say their portfolios are healthy.