中金点睛·2025-10-19 23:59Core Viewpoint - Recent declines in stock prices of Zions Bank (ZION) and Western Alliance (WAL) are attributed to concerns over loan losses, raising fears about the asset quality issues stemming from previous loose credit conditions and potential systemic financial risks [2][3] Group 1: Risk Origin and Comparison - The current risks faced by U.S. regional banks are primarily credit risks rather than interest rate risks, as analyzed in a previous report [2] - ZION and WAL differ significantly from the previously failed Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and First Republic Bank (FRC) in terms of liability stability, with ZION and WAL showing no signs of deposit runs [2][3] - The liability structures of ZION and WAL are more stable and diversified compared to SVB and FRC, with uninsured deposits at 43% and 50% respectively, and non-interest-bearing demand deposits at 32% and 28% [2][3] Group 2: Asset Quality and Credit Risk - The asset risks for ZION and WAL are primarily related to credit risk, unlike SVB and FRC, which faced significant interest rate risks due to their long-term bond holdings [3] - ZION and WAL have a higher proportion of loans (62% and 76%) compared to securities investments (30% and 13%), which reduces their exposure to interest rate fluctuations [3] - Current evidence does not suggest that the recent loan risk events are systemic, as the overall loan delinquency rates in the U.S. banking sector remain historically low [3] Group 3: Financial Stability and Systemic Impact - ZION and WAL's potential bad debt exposure is limited, with loan write-offs accounting for only 13% and 8% of their 2024 profits, and impacting their core Tier 1 capital minimally [3][4] - The asset sizes of ZION (888 billion) and WAL (809 billion) are significantly smaller than those of SVB and FRC, indicating that the current risks are more localized and do not pose a systemic threat to the financial system [4] - The high interest rate environment may lead to increased credit risks, but any resulting credit tightening is expected to be moderate unless clear signs of economic recession emerge [4]