Such expectations are now one factor buoying bank share prices. Still, given the dominant role of net interest income in banks’ earnings and the staggered pass6/8  BIS central bankers' speeches  through of low rates into lending margins, profitability is likely to remain vulnerable for some years to come, which raises the question of how the banking sector should best adapt.
In my view, it would be misguided for banks to wait for changes in monetary policy to come to the rescue. Even in a normalisation scenario, the pre-crisis banking world is unlikely to return. Banks face new structural and technological challenges that they have to confront, in particular in terms of raising operational efficiency.