Regional banks

The New York commercial bank says geographic diversification is a long-term necessity and that the interplay of its private banking and commercial banking businesses has helped it withstand the economic shock of the coronavirus.

Six of the eight regional banks that announced their stress capital buffers on Tuesday said they will need just a 2.5% cushion to weather an economic downturn. All eight said they’ll keep their dividends steady.

Some observers said the central bank should have suspended dividends entirely in response to an unprecedented economic emergency caused by the pandemic. Others said its more cautious moves were appropriate because big banks' capital is strong and the economy could bounce back.

Business owners are changing banks at three times normal levels, a trend researchers attribute to their difficulty in obtaining emergency loans. If the forgiveness stage of the Paycheck Protection Program proves arduous, that rate could climb much higher.

Greg Seibly, who led the turnaround of Sterling Financial during the Great Recession, was nine days into his new job as president of Union Bank when the pandemic was declared.