One of those elsewheres is Washington, and as a Utahan who has spent most of his career in the private sector advising and investing in the banking industry, I think I have a pretty good idea of how things look, from your vantage point, when someone from Washington shows up to give a speech.
As noted, a fair portion of the dispersion among institutions stemmed from their assignment of risk parameters, with differences in portfolio composition playing some role. The institutions participating in QIS4 use a variety of credit-rating systems. Rating philosophy is an area in which rating systems can differ, with some focused more on “through the cycle” ratings, and others on “point in time” ratings.