Economic Outlook
While the economy seems to be chugging along, the list of possible threats appears to be getting longer as banks clock signs of tariff stress
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Fifth Third Bank Chief Executive Tim Spence says his business clients are optimistic about the economy despite uncertainty over tariffs and other unknowns.
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Bankers tend to use a variety of data points to gauge the state of the economy, depending on the institution and the individual doing the forecasting. And after this week’s stock-market drop for bank stocks, they’ve scoured every one of them.
Despite the customary optimism from banks as a way to encourage economic activity, this week’s earnings updates revealed that lenders continue to watch for key data points around tariffs impacting client costs, as well as some weakness in certain sectors — such as sluggish home construction and softness in the auto-financing business.
