Mark Batty Fairly Quotations

Commercial and industrial loans are growing at a double- digit pace and that's indicative of a fairly strong economy. That, coupled with stable credit quality, has been a positive for banks that focus on small and middle-market businesses.

The bankruptcy issue is a one-time situation. Commercial and industrial loan growth was fairly strong and should be the key driver of earnings growth this year for the regional banks.

In some markets we're seeing reasonably strong deposit growth and pretty much across the board, commercial and industrial, middle-market business loans are fairly robust. It's a sign the economy remains fairly strong.