Have banks now got too much cash?
Some are in the bizarre position of shooing away deposits
THE FATES of the economy and banks are normally closely entwined; when customers endure misfortune, loans go unpaid. The summer was marked by a lull in covid-19 cases and recovering economic activity. Winter has brought with it more infections and shutdowns. Yet banks’ profits were slender in the summer and, as fourth-quarter earnings released between January 15th and 20th revealed, fattened at the end of the year. What is going on?
This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Topsy turvy”
Finance & economics January 23rd 2021
- Will Joe Biden’s fiscal stimulus overheat the American economy?
- Supply bottlenecks are pushing up costs for manufacturers
- Have banks now got too much cash?
- China’s regional gap is worsening
- A Swiss money-laundering probe raises disturbing questions
- Property investment: some hard truths
- What is the link between economic crises and political ruptures?
From the January 23rd 2021 edition
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