Where the math is defensible.
Long-form research on live enterprise decisions. Publication is selective. Every number traces to a named source. No takes without evidence.
US Regional Banking 2026: Consolidation, Basel Endgame, and the CRE Wall
Three years after Silicon Valley Bank, the regional bank franchise has stabilized, the Capital One and Discover deal closed, and the Basel III Endgame final rule is law. The unfinished work is commercial real estate.
The US regional banking system enters 2026 in a different shape than the one that broke in March 2023. Capital One closed its 35 billion dollar all-stock acquisition of Discover in May 2025, the OCC and the Federal Reserve approved the deal with community reinvestment conditions, and the Basel III Endgame final rule was issued in May 2025...
The 2026 macro-financial risk landscape: where the brittle joints are
Five specific joints in the global financial system are carrying load they were not designed for. The interesting question for 2026 is not whether stress arrives, but which joint cracks first and how the others respond.
Headline financial conditions look benign in the spring of 2026. ICE BofA US High Yield OAS sits in the low 300 basis point range, the FRB Chicago National Financial Conditions Index reads negative, and the VIX is below its long-run median. Underneath, five specific joints are carrying real stress. Regional bank commercial real estate con...