Is the worst now over for America’s banks?

After a hurricane has passed there is a period of calm that can feel euphoric. Survival is no longer at stake. Then, once the relief begins to fade, it is time to assess the damage. What destruction has been wrought? How difficult will it be to recover? This sequence will be familiar to anyone who has been paying attention to American banks this year. In the days that followed the sudden failure of Silicon Valley Bank, once the country’s 16th-largest lender, as well as two other banks, panic and fear ripped through the financial system. Now, though, the storm seems to have passed. Certainly, no lender has been imperilled since. Cue the relief.