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How Regional Banks Got Healthy Again



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After depositor runs led to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank this spring, investors and onlookers wondered how similarly sized institutions would fare. Would they have to merge with bigger banks? Break up their businesses and shrink drastically? Or were more of them simply doomed?Then, when a third lender, First Republic Bank, flirted with destruction for weeks before JPMorgan Chase bought it in May, it was hard to see how depositors would ever feel comfortable trusting midsize banks again.Relief has now arrived. Quarterly earnings reports released this month detailing midsize banks’ performance from April through June have shown that their balance sheets look healthier than they did in the previous quarter, with higher-quality loans and more money set aside to cover surprise losses.The KBW Nasdaq Regional Banking Index, a proxy for the industry, is rebounding after plunging 35 percent during the crisis. It is now up a …

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