Just how healthy are American banks? Chris Whalen, chairman of Whalen Global Advisors, has answered that question for Real Vision.
In a wide-ranging interview, Whalen said banks must focus on commercial lending, as that is their most profitable category. However, as banks get bigger, they start competing with the non-banks which want to steal that asset from them, such as insurance companies and pension funds.
“The smaller banks have better pricing power,” Whalen said. “If you look at say, BB&T, or any of the smaller banks below that level, they'll have 1% or 1.5% better