The term “banking crisis” has been applied to the current state of the nation’s biggest banks, which have been reporting losses in the billions for the past several quarters, including Wachovia’s announcement today that it lost $9 billion and will shed thousands more jobs.
But is it really a banking crisis when other, albeit smaller, banks are reporting second quarter profits?
Take Commerce Bank, for example. Last week it said profits increased in the second quarter by nearly 3 percent.
And today UMB Bank said it saw its profits increase 18 percent over the prior year’s quarter.
So I ask, is it really a crisis?
Or are the woes of the nation’s biggest banks being broadly applied to the entire industry?