Mark Batty Commercial Quotations

Commercial and industrial loans are growing at a double- digit pace and that's indicative of a fairly strong economy. That, coupled with stable credit quality, has been a positive for banks that focus on small and middle-market businesses.

In some markets we're seeing reasonably strong deposit growth and pretty much across the board, commercial and industrial, middle-market business loans are fairly robust. It's a sign the economy remains fairly strong.

The bankruptcy issue is a one-time situation. Commercial and industrial loan growth was fairly strong and should be the key driver of earnings growth this year for the regional banks.