The third quarter earnings reporting season is about to begin, and most analysts have already pared their expectations; some have done so multiple times.

At the end of June, analysts were predicting aggregate bank profits would rise 15.6 percent. That growth rate prediction has been pared to 2.8 percent. In this environment, we could see some banks post some upside surprises, which unfortunately should be little cause for any celebration.

The fact of the matter is the industry remains revenue challenge. By one estimate, revenue in the third quarter will decline 4 percent in the third quarter, falling all the way back to 2005 levels. Earnings are now expected to fall back to levels last seen in 2002. The really sad aspect is that there doesn't seem to be an answer to the revenue malaise, which is why stocks have fallen to such shockingly low levels.

One mutual fund manager offered an apt analogy to the New York Times comparing owning bank stocks these days to holding airline stocks in the months after the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001.

"Nobody wants to own the group," he said. "Everybody thinks it is not the place to be."

For banks, one huge issue is credibility. Whether it's their fault or not, they have become objects of scorn generating little credibility. On this point, the Times notes, the protesters and the analysts and the regulators agree. In any case, JPMorgan Chase will get things started on Thursday. Citigroup and Wells Fargo will report on the next Monday. Bank of America and Goldman Sachs report on Tuesday, Oct. 18. Morgan Stanley follows on Wednesday.

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