But it cannot be expected to last forever. Even with everything going for them, a couple of the big regional banks - Bank One in Chicago and First Union in Charlotte - managed to find problems of their own. The wave of mega-mergers that has contributed to the recent performance has run its course and, although there is scope for further consolidation, some of the so-called super-regional banks are now looking a little less super.
The biggest source of concern has to be just how long the growth of the US economy can be expected to last. It has enjoyed an unprecedented run of years of expansion, accompanied by booming stock markets. That, in turn, has provided a comfortable background for banks both in their domestic lending operations and in market-related business. Now there are starting to be some signs of pressure, as interest rates are pushed up, there are indications of weakening margins in retail banking operations and worries grow about the possibility of a Wall Street collapse. For the time being, though, everything has remained rosy for both the commercial and the investment banks.
