Jim Dobbs

The beleaguered bank said it is selling 74 loans totaling about $2.6 billion to a subsidiary of Kennedy-Wilson Holdings. The move is part of a plan to pursue strategic asset sales, trim expenses and shore up its balance sheet.

Community banks tapped the brakes during the first quarter, citing higher interest rates, recession threats and fallout from regional-bank failures. Fed data shows the trend has continued into May, and executives are preaching caution.

The Tennessee bank confirmed in its earnings report that the deal, already delayed by several months amid heightened regulatory scrutiny, likely would not close by a May 27 deadline. No new target date has been set.

The American Bankers Association's latest Credit Conditions Index points to a drop in lending and a rise in loan delinquencies through the second and third quarters.

The two banks are now targeting May 27, three months later than their previous goal. The transaction, which would create a top-six U.S. bank by asset size, was originally expected to be completed last fall.

Indexes show heightened expectations for a recession and souring loans. But executives are upbeat about middle-market businesses and overall job growth.

Members of the American Bankers Association's Economic Advisory Committee expect gross domestic product to stall in 2023. Other surveys show a modest contraction. Lenders say sentiment among their borrowers also points to a slight slowdown.

The Pittsburgh bank posted a solid profit and said that it expects continued loan growth. But the pace of business expansion could slow alongside an economic downturn.

Dicier credit conditions, recession fears and tougher regulatory scrutiny combined to weaken merger activity in 2022. A push for scale is bound to resume when interest rates level off — at least among smaller banks, analysts say.

The Pittsburgh company's finance chief expects more gains in interest income, though he conceded rising deposit costs could curb the pace of advances.