TWST: You cover small- and mid-cap banks from Maryland to Maine. How would characterize the industry over the last year or so?
Ms. Gilbert: The industry is faring better than the stock prices would indicate. The banking business, from a bottom-up perspective, is doing OK. A lot of these smaller banks are still able to generate some income from spread and from the longer end of the curve, and they're able to take market share. Some of these banks that are in niche businesses are actually growing, and credit has been improving. I would argue that the fundamentals throughout this past year have been decent.
TWST: Do you feel like investors are missing out on something? And if so, what are they not seeing?
