This Is a Red Flag for Banks

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yield-curve-7-5-19.pngThe yield curve has been in the news because its recent gyrations are seen as a harbinger of a coming recession.

The yield curve is the difference between short- and long-term bond yields. In a healthy economy, long-term bond yields are normally higher than short-term yields because investors take more risk with the longer duration.

In late June, however, the spread between the yield on the three-month Treasury bill and the 10-year Treasury note inverted—which is to say the 10-year yield was lower than the three-month yield.

Inverted Yield Curve.png

An inverted yield curve doesn’t cause a recession, but it signals a set of economic factors that are likely to result in one. It is a sign that investors lack confidence in the future of the economy. Or to put it another way, they have greater confidence in the economy’s long-term prospects than in its near-term outlook.

Long-term yields drop because investors want to lock in a higher return. This heightened demand for long-dated bonds allows the U.S. Department of the Treasury to offer lower yields. The historical average length of recessions is about 18 months, so a 10-year Treasury note takes investors well beyond that point.

Short-terms Treasury yields rise because investors are skittish about the economy’s near-term prospects, which requires the Treasury Department to entice them with higher yields.

It turns out that inverted yield curves have a pretty good track record of predicting recessions within the next 12 months. The last six recessions were preceded by inverted yield curves, although economists point out that inversions in 1995 and 1998 were not followed by subsequent downturns. And more than two years passed between an inversion in December 2005 and the onset of the 2008 financial crisis.

Still, an inverted yield curve is an economic red flag for banks. The industry’s performance inevitably suffers in a recession, and even the most conservative institutions will experience higher loan losses when the credit cycle turns.

An inversion is a warning that banks should tighten their credit standards and rein in their competitive impulses. Some of the worst commercial loans are made 12 to 18 months prior to an economic downturn, and they are often the first loans to go bad.

Ironically, if banks tighten up too much, they risk contributing to a recession by cutting off the funding that businesses need to grow. Banks make these decisions individually, of course, but the industry’s herd instinct is alive and well.

It’s possible that the most recent inversion presages a recession in 2020. In its June survey, the National Association of Business Economics forecast the U.S. economy to grow 2.6 percent this year, with only a 15 percent chance of a recession. But they see slower growth in 2020, with the risk of a recession by year-end rising to 60 percent.

This has been an unprecedented time for the U.S. economy and we seem to be sailing through uncharted waters. On July 1, the economy’s current expansion became the longest on record, and gross domestic product grew at a 3.1 percent annualized rate in the first quarter. Unemployment was just 3.6 percent in May—the lowest in 49 years—while inflation, which often rises when the economy reaches full employment because employers are forced to pay higher salaries to attract workers, remained under firm control.

These are historic anomalies, so maybe the old rules have changed.

The Federal Open Market Committee is widely expected to cut the fed funds rate in late July after raising it four times in 2018. That could both help and hurt bankers.

A rate cut helps if it keeps the economic expansion going. It hurts if it makes it more difficult for banks to charge higher rates for their loans. Many banks prospered last year because they were able raise their loan rates faster than their deposit rates, which helped expand their net interest margins. They may not benefit as much from repricing this year if the Fed ends up cutting interest rates.

Is an inverted yield curve a harbinger of a recession in 2020? This economy seems to shrug off all such concerns, but history says yes.

Feeling the Flat Yield Curve Squeeze?

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interest-rate-6-26-18.pngInvestors have always sought better returns for greater risk. Longer investment horizons are associated with a higher amount of risk driven by uncertainty. In the fixed income markets, this translates to higher yields for longer maturities to compensate investors for the risk, thus creating what is called the yield curve. The yield curve has a positive slope in a normal market. The curve can also be flat or even inverted, which typically indicate transitionary periods in the market. That said, interest rate troughs usually do not last more than seven years, and central banks normally do not pump trillions of dollars into global markets as they have over the last several years. With protracted recovery and extreme monetary policy measures, this dreaded flat yield curve seems to be here for a while.

Banks’ primary earning power is largely driven by net interest margin, which is impacted by the shape of the yield curve and the ability to manage interest rate risk. It is prudent to perform non-parallel rate simulations on a regular basis, and regulators require this type of analysis. These simulations should be reviewed with management and saved for future use. Given the protracted flat yield curve environment, banks are feeling margin compression. If you have not done so, it may be time to retrieve these reports, understand if and where risk is impacting your balance sheet and manage your margin accordingly.

There are a number of ways a flat yield curve can negatively impact interest rate margins. Liquidity pressure is often at the top of the list in a rising rate environment. We have seen seven upward moves in the target fed funds rate since the bottom of the recovery, a total of 175 basis points. Depositors are hungrily pursuing newfound interest income. Most banks have had to follow suit and raise deposit rates. On the asset side of the balance sheet, fixed-rate loan yields have remained relatively stagnant. A typical rate on a 20-year amortizing 5-year balloon, owner-occupied commercial real estate loan in the $1-million to $5-million range was priced around 4.75 percent during the bottom of the rate trough.

As deposit rates have risen, banks have had difficulty in pricing the yields on loans of this type much above 5 percent. A third pressure point is the investment portfolio. During a normal yield curve environment, institutions with asset-sensitive balance sheets could earn income by borrowing short-term liabilities and investing at higher yields further out on the curve. Given the tightness of spreads along the curve where typical banks invest, there is minimal advantage to implementing this type of a strategy.

Since the issue of margin compression driven by the flat curve is a top concern for those who manage interest rate risk, the better question is what to do about it. Most bankers know it is present but many avoid the potential ramifications. The non-parallel simulation is an important exercise to understand the implications over the next year or so. The bank may even want to consider running a worst-case scenario simulation around an inverted curve as well. From there some strategic deposit pricing can be implemented.

One strategy may be either maintaining a short duration, and hopefully, inexpensive deposit or locking in funds for longer terms, pending balance sheet needs. Locking in longer term funding will come at a cost to the net interest margin unless the curve inverts. The interest rate risk simulation will help answer those types of questions. It is also a good time to look at a loan pricing model. This would help determine whether to continue to compete on price or pass on deals until margins improve. There is even a level that where banks should turn down business. It is important to understand the price point that becomes dilutive to earnings. Finally, there is a point that one stops taking duration risk in the investment portfolio, stays short and prepares to take advantage of future opportunities while reducing price risk.

Although a flat yield curve is not a new market phenomenon, it is currently impacting bank margins and may continue to for the next year or longer. Our Balance Sheet Strategies Group recommends banks consider the use of a detailed, non-parallel simulation to assess the current market and how to position the balance sheet moving forward. In addition to optimizing the interest rate position going forward, this will also help preserve and potentially enhance the interest margin. Every five basis points saved or earned on a $250-million balance sheet will equate to $125,000 in interest rate margin.

Navigating Your Bank Through Rising Rates

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interest-rates-4-2-18.pngBanks have been lamenting low interest rates for almost a decade. In boardrooms and on earnings calls, low rates have been blamed for shrinking margins, tepid deposit growth and intense loan competition.

With rates now up more than 100 basis points from their lows, we’re about to find out where that was true, and where interest rates were just a convenient scapegoat. Management teams and boards now face a few strategic questions. Among them: How is lending typically impacted by higher rates, and what strategies should my institution consider as rates continue to rise?

First, as the Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee puts upward pressure on overnight rates, there is typically a follow-on effect further out on the curve. But, these effects are rarely 1:1, resulting in a flattening yield curve. Bear flatteners, in which short-term interest rates increase more quickly than long-term rates, differ in severity, but if this one is anything like the period following the last Fed tightening cycle—from June 2004 through August 2006, as shown in the chart below—banks could be in for some pain.

Second, as rates start to quickly rise, nominal loan yields lag, resulting in declining credit spreads. It takes time for borrowers to adjust to the new reality, and competing banks can be expected to play a game of chicken, waiting to see which will blink first on higher loan rates and face a potential loss of market share.

Taken together, these two phenomena can put intense pressure on loan profitability. Banks are now enjoying an increase in net interest margins, but this comes on the back of rising yields on floating rate loans funded with deposits that have not yet become more expensive. Deposit costs will soon start moving, and once they do, they can move quickly.

This is a time when a rising tide no longer lifts all boats, and the banks that properly navigate the asset side of their balance sheet will start to separate themselves from everyone else. So, what does “proper navigation” look like? It’s not timing the market or outguessing the competition. Instead, winning during pivots in interest rates is all about adhering to a disciplined pricing process.

Trust the Yield Curve
The top performing banks let the yield curve guide pricing. We see evidence of this discipline in the mix between floating and fixed-rate structures. When rates were low, and the yield curve was steep, many banks were tempted to move out on the curve. They instituted arbitrary minimum starting rates on floating structures and saw their share of fixed-rate loans reach record highs. Now that rates are starting rise, these banks fear the exposure those fixed rates created, so they are desperately trying to correct the mix.

Disciplined banks ended up with the opposite scenario. With a steep curve, they found the lower floating-rate structures to be popular with borrowers. Now that the curve is flattening, borrowers are choosing more fixed-rate structures. These banks have large blocks of floating-rate loans that are now repricing higher, and that mix will naturally shift to fixed as rates move higher and the curve flattens, protecting them from dropping yields when the cycle eventually turns again. These banks let the yield curve help them manage their exposure, working in sync with borrower demand instead of against it.

Supercharge Cross-Sell Efforts
We also see top performing banks paying more attention than ever to their cross-selling efforts. In a rising rate environment, low cost deposits become much more valuable. Banks that already have deposit gathering built into their lending function are taking advantage, as their relationship managers can offer more aggressive loan pricing when the deals are accompanied by net new deposits. These banks have well-established processes for measuring the value of these deposits, tracking the delivery of promised new business and properly incentivizing their relationship managers to chase the right kind of new accounts.

When it comes to surviving—and thriving—in a rising rate environment, there is no magic bullet or secret shortcut. Instead, the answer lies in continuing to do what you should have been doing all along: Trusting the process you’ve built, staying disciplined and ignoring all the noise around you in the market.

And if you don’t have a process—a true north that you can use to guide your commercial bank’s pricing strategy—then get one right now. Rough seas may well lie ahead.