Several banks at Morgan Stanley's financialsconference—including Citizens Financial Group and Fifth ThirdBancorp—said that corporate borrowers are becoming more cautiousdue to uncertainty about trade and interest rates, along with“overall economic unease.”

That may “suggest future pressure on loan growth,” MorganStanley analyst Ken Zerbe wrote in a note on midcap bank takeawaysfrom his firm's event, which was held this week. He added thatexecutives were “quick to point out” that commercial clients'concern isn't yet resulting in weak loan growth and that creditquality is still strong.

Other key takeaways: Banks are hedging their interest rateexposure, but it may be too late to help much. Recession isn'tenough of a risk factor to deter banks from continuing buybacks.And New York legislation around rent-regulated apartments poses a“meaningful headwind” for New York Community Bancorp (NYCB) andSignature Bank.