Page 14 - BusinessWest July 24, 2023

BANKING & FINANCE >>
An Uphill Climb
Banks Fight Upstream from Domino Effect of Higher Interest Rates
14 JULY 24, 2023
<< BANKING & FINANCE >> BusinessWest
BY GEORGE O’BRIEN
Dan Moriarty was among the participants in the recent IRON- MAN competition that wound its way through many Western Mass. communities.
The president and CEO of Monson Savings bank, Mori- arty is also an avid biker, and decided to take things up a
notch — or two, or three — with the IRONMAN, which featured a mile swim, downstream, in the Connecticut River; a 56-mile bike trek; and a half-marathon (13 miles and change).
Moriarty said his time — and he doesn’t like to talk about time — was roughly seven hours, and joked that that he believes he met what was his primary goal: “I wanted to come in first among all the local bank presidents.”
As things are turning out, the IRONMAN isn’t the only test of endur- ance he will face this year and next (yes, he’s already scheduled to take part again in 2024). He and all other banking leaders are facing another stern challenge, and where they finish on this one ... well, there are sev- eral factors that will ultimately determine that, as we’ll see.
Indeed, the past year or so has been a long, mostly uphill, upstream stretch for banks, which are being severely tested by unprecedented interest rates hikes implemented by the Fed, which have a domino