State banking sector steady through slow economic recovery

Oklahoma's publicly traded banking firms bank of stability during troubled economic times.

BY DON MECOY | Published: November 14, 2010 Comment on this article

uot;We are encouraged that the state economic factors for our principal markets in Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas continue to outperform most of the nation.”

In Oklahoma, deposits have grown faster than in other parts of the country as investors look for cash havens while evaluating riskier prospects during the economic recovery. Oklahoma bank deposits grew 2.4 percent in the past year.

But loan demand continues to lag, said Steven Nell, chief financial officer of BOK Financial.

"We're still seeing a drop-off in our loan balances,” Nell said. "If you were to see a pickup in loan balances that would probably be a better indicator of economic improvement.”

While many individuals and businesses may be in a better financial position these days, uncertainty likely is limiting spending and borrowing, Nell said.

"There's still a lot of uncertainty out there — uncertainty about the political direction,” he said. "Uncertainty with all of these financial regulations out there. Uncertainty about the unemployment in the country and how long it will stay at elevated levels. Another example would be the taxes, uncertainty about what's going to happen in the future. Still uncertainty around health care costs in the future,” Nell said.

Rainbolt remains cautiously optimistic.

"In the long term, I'm very positive about Oklahoma's economy — no doubt,” Rainbolt said. "It may be more than a short amount of time before that manifests itself. I don't think it's going to be quick turnaround.”

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