Competition: New England Banks Fare Better Posted by AVCU on 9:35 AM

Banks in the Northeast, but especially ones in New England, are surviving the recession better than banks in the rest of the country, according to the 8/10 issue of American Banker. They outperformed other banks in the nation on credit quality, deposit growth and loan growth. The findings were reported by two research firms - Sandler O'Neill & Partners LP, and Keefe Bruyette and Woods Inc. Reasons given for the disparity in the northeast are that the region's banks emerged from recession in the the early 1990's later than the rest of the country, learned a lesson and tightened underwriting standards. They also had fewer construction loans because New England is highly developed and has less available room to build.