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This regional banker cheered by sector's resilience, disturbed by potential regulation

Mar 12, 2024
Laurie Stewart of Sound Community Bank is confident a year after three banks failed, but credit risk and cyber threats are on her radar.
The failure of Silicon Valley Bank didn't foreshadow widespread disruptions in the industry, as many feared.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

Banks will pay the cost of SVB's collapse, and maybe that's "how it should be"

Mar 13, 2023
As the government moved to backstop depositors affected by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, surviving banks will end up footing the costs, says Laurie Stewart at Sound Community Bank in Seattle.
The federal government announced it would ensure that depositors affected by Silicon Valley Bank's collapse would be made whole. "I'm really happy for them," said Laurie Stewart. "But here's the thing: we're gonna pay for it. Banks are going to pay for it."
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

After a year on the PPP front lines, a community banker is seeing confidence return

Apr 13, 2021
PPP loans have produced great results, says Seattle banker Laurie Stewart. She's optimistic about demand rising without inflation.
The interior of the Woolly Mammoth shoe store in Seattle, where Laurie Stewart's Sound Community Bank is based.
Karen Ducey/Getty Images