A Banker's-Eye View of the U.S. Credit Downgrade
August 7, 2011 11:00 PM
John A. Kanas
"If the [economic] outlook becomes grim again, then banks will need to hunker down."
John A. Kanas
Chairman, President, CEO
BankUnited (Image: Bloomberg News)
Rusty Cloutier
"We don't know where to put our money … We're worried the Fed will go to a zero interest rate."
Rusty Cloutier
President, CEO
MidSouth Bancorp (Image: Bloomberg News)
Stephen H. Gordon
"Our leaders came together and at the last minute agreed to do something in the future. I'm blown away that [government officials] … thought that was enough."
Stephen H. Gordon
Chairman, CEO
Opus Bank
Bob Jones
"I don't think we're going to change anything based on the downgrade. We're staying liquid and short."
Bob Jones
President, CEO
Old National Bancorp
John Buhrmaster
"We don't put any credit into these ratings. … The OCC and the Fed have told us that the risk ratings on the securities in our portfolio are not going to change. The bankers I've talked to are comfortable with that guidance."
John Buhrmaster
President
1st National Bank of Scotia
Frank Sorrentino
"What is important to me is the crisis of confidence. We are getting calls from people who are wondering if they really should buy a house or expand their business."
Frank Sorrentino
Chairman, CEO
North Jersey Community Bank
David Kemper
"We've got a longer-term fiscal problem, and the government has to deleverage … The effect on banks is lower loan demand and riskier loans."
David Kemper
Chairman, CEO
Commerce Bancshares
Terry Jorde
"Regulators came out right away and said this [downgrade] will not have an impact on bank investment portfolios ... bankers aren't concerned ... we'll get our arms around this and get it worked out."
Terry Jorde
Senior Vice President, Chief of Staff
Independent Community Bankers of America (Image: Bloomberg News)
French Hill
"We've fielded a lot of questions from our customers about the impact of a downgrade on the outlook for their personal investments…We're counseling investors to think about the long term, their own situation based on their age, outlook, income and need for funding and try to make independent, individual decisions rather than reach a broad brush conclusion."
French Hill
Chairman, CEO
Delta Trust & Banking Co.
