March 15 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs on Wednesday lowered
its forecast for fourth-quarter U.S. gross domestic product
(GDP) growth, citing risks to the lending environment as smaller
banks pull back on loans to preserve liquidity in the face of a
banking crisis.
Analysts at the firm now expect year-over-year growth of
1.2% for the quarter, down 0.3 percentage points from their
previous estimate.
Regional banks in the United States have been on a bumpy
ride since SVB Financial Group was shuttered by
regulators after a bank run last week.
The rapid unraveling of the startup lender has fueled
worries of potential bank runs at peers that could leave them
scrambling for funds to meet deposit withdrawal requests.
Goldman Sachs said stress at some banks persists despite
federal agencies having acted aggressively to bolster the
financial system.
On Tuesday, ratings agency Moody's revised its outlook on
the U.S. banking system to "negative" from "stable".
(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika
Syamnath)
