Banks flush with cash as customers squirrel away money

Spring has come in like a lion, as in difficult conditions, for banks this year.

In early April, the target federal funds rate — the rate at which banks lend to each other, set by the Federal Reserve — was at 5%, higher than the near-zero level of a year earlier, making borrowing much more expensive. And even before the latest increase, Silicon Valley Bank made headlines after U.S. regulators shuttered it following a run on deposits. Then, on March 10, New York City-based Signature Bank failed, throwing the banking industry into a deeper crisis.