U.S. Bank leader: ‘Cincinnati is the most resilient, balanced economy

U.S. Bank leader: ‘Cincinnati is the most resilient, balanced economy

–

“Cincinnati is the most resilient, balanced, even-keeled economy,” Mike Prescott, U.S. Bank’s Cincinnati-based commercial banking East Region leader and a chief for the bank in the Greater Cincinnati market said.

Prescott should know. He handles commercial banking from North Carolina to St. Louis for the nation’s fifth-largest bank.

Mergers and acquisitions have slowed significantly, Prescott said. Interest rates play a big part in that. So businesses are looking to grow on their own, meaning they need more loans.

U.S. Bank’s clients don’t expect inflation to return to normal anytime soon. They see it hovering in the 3.5% range for quite a while. That’s barely below the 3.7% rate the U.S. economy logged in September and well above that Fed target of 2%. That means interest rates aren’t likely to decline in the near future, either.

But Cincinnati businesses are adjusting to that new normal.

Companies are adjusting in part through automation. A U.S. Bank CFO Insights survey showed 42% of companies are increasing their levels of automation to make up for employee shortages. A lot of those involve collecting cash and making payments in a more efficient way.

U.S. Bank’s local deposits rose 19% over the past year to $103.8 billion, according to FDIC data. It’s the largest locally based bank by deposits. Those numbers are a bit skewed because they include some commercial deposits from customers around the country that are held at the bank’s main branch downtown. But they still indicate significant growth.

“Our deposits look pretty good,” Prescott said, adding he examines the numbers in a multitude of ways.

U.S. Bank has 69 branches in Greater Cincinnati, second in the region behind Fifth Third Bank’s 100 locations as of June 30, according to Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. data.

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2023/10/18/us-bank-local-leader-prescott-cincinnati-economy.html

#cincinnati #nky #banking #usbank #balanced #growth #loans #interestrates #inflation #federalreserve #business