What will it take for banks to recover? Third-quarter earnings are coming in, and in the case of Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, and State Street, they weren't as bad as expected, which isn't exactly something to write home about in this environment. Merrill Lynch just reported its fifth quarterly loss in a row. Now that the fear of financial meltdown is easing, banks can confront, head on, the economic crisis that looms. It's fair to say that banks will have a tough time growing out of the malaise, especially the ones that are faced with the dual task of integrating big purchases. So we can expect slow growth, some losses and plenty of job action. There's plenty of worry that more action will be needed to writeoff credit cards, home equity and mortgage debt of all stripes.

For more:
- here's a New York Times article