Connect with the author: korrynn.loesch@curinos.com
Excerpted from the author’s remarks at SIMFA’s Operations Conference & Exhibition at Marco Island, Fla., on May 13, 2026.
In wealth deposits, banks didn’t enter the falling-rate period with identical books, and the impacts of previous strategic decisions are still being seen. Many with higher portfolio costs had built up a pool of rate-sensitive money that was always unlikely to stick around when rates fell, even if the bank had comparatively lower falling rate betas.
The middle third of banks has been able to keep rates lower thanks to their previous strategies of prioritizing checking and continuing to use CDs to manage rate-sensitive money. The lower third relied largely on exception pricing before rates began falling, which has now resulted in higher beta pass-through and declining balances even as their published rates remain competitive.
Average Characteristics of Portfolios by Falling-Rate Growth Tercile
Source(s): Curinos Wealth Deposit Analyzer, Curinos Wealth Optimizer, FRED | Note(s): Simple averages displayed | Page displays all data available at time of production and benchmark may differ from that of Wealth Deposit Analyzer tool | Banksterciled based on indexed deposit growth Aug ’24 – Mar ’26 | *3 month average displayed
Meanwhile, in cash sweeps, about half of firms are paying clients less than five basis points for cash sitting in their brokerage accounts. The top quartile has much higher yields, with many of these firms seeking to compete for share of wallet with digital savings/money funds and offering higher yields in their managed accounts.
