Macke Mauldin, president at Sheffield-based Bank Independent, recently met with a business customer who’s currently building a new facility. The customer’s business had plans to outfit the building with a wide range of technological equipment, but after meeting with his technology supplier, he had to postpone those plans.
“The supplier said, ‘With the new tariffs, we don’t know if this equipment will cost $50,000 or if it will be $150,000 when it hits the port,’” Mauldin says. “So, our customer’s business decided to put the technology on hold.”
It’s just one example of how Alabama banks are seeing their customers pause investment plans or otherwise respond to uncertain economic conditions.
And the experience is widespread.
In an April 2025 earnings call, John M. Turner, president, CEO and chairman of Regions Bank, said, “The current conditions have created uncertainty, which has caused many of our clients to delay investments.”
Faced with persistent inflation, quickly changing federal economic policies and weighty trade negotiations, both consumers and businesses are approaching financial decisions with hesitancy. Alabama banks are working to provide support as their clients wrestle with constantly changing economic headlines.
Gauging the Impacts
Bank Independent reached out to 120 business customers across North Alabama to learn how they are feeling about new tariffs, which President Donald Trump has recently increased for every trade partner including Canada, Mexico, China, Great Britain and European Union countries.
“The general consensus is that tariffs affect different industries in different ways,” Mauldin says. “The paper industry, for example, relies on international materials and many are looking for new suppliers. There’s a lot of pressure on suppliers to absorb the cost of tariffs because if they pass the increase along to customers, they’ll lose those customers.”
In other industries, some suppliers are adding a new line item for tariffs on their invoices, Mauldin says.
“Many of our customers are very concerned, but they haven’t realized the impact yet because the policies keep changing all the time,” Mauldin says. “That can be paralyzing to a business because they can’t act when they don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Regions’ business customers are responding similarly. “Clearly, the volatility of uncertainty has customers in sort of a wait-and-see mode,” Turner says. “I do think as it becomes more clear what the nature of the tariffs will be, what products they’ll be applied to, what countries and to what degree, the customers can be more certain about the potential impacts.”
Responding with Caution
Businesses and individuals may be cautious, but they’re still making financial decisions. While Regions Bank’s business customers also are trying to understand the impact tariffs will have on the cost of their projects, many still have capital to spend.
“Within the middle market customer space and in real estate, we’re beginning to see pipelines expanding a bit,” Turner says. “And so those customers are more interested in making investments, we think, and that likely will continue. Customers are still carrying a tremendous amount of liquidity on their balance sheets. We’ve seen a significant growth in what I’ll call wholesale deposits, both on balance sheet and off balance sheet, and I think until customers begin using that liquidity, it’s not likely we see any real increase in borrowings under lines of credit.”
While Mauldin says he has heard consumers express caution about spending anecdotally, those fears have not yet really translated into significant changes. U.S. consumer spending increased slightly in April, according to a May 30 report from the Department of Commerce.
“We haven’t really seen the impact of the tariffs on our prices yet,” Mauldin says. He expects to see consumer spending slow when retail goods start reflecting higher prices due to tariffs.
In fact, some economic research suggests that many consumers have been spending more throughout the spring to attempt to get ahead of tariff-related price increases. Bank of America data shows that consumer card spending on durables, such as furniture, electronics and building supplies, increased significantly in March. Bank of America data also shows that consumer vehicle loan applications remained strong throughout the month of April, suggesting that consumers may be interested in purchasing vehicles before tariff price increases take place.
Looking Ahead with Optimism
Despite the uncertainty, most banking customers are optimistic that the economic bumps will be smoothed and the long-term outlook will improve. For example, Mauldin mentions that in other times of great unpredictability, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2008 recession and the 2007 housing crisis, “the federal government has come through like a knight in shining armor and helped us manage through it.”
Bankers and their customers hope the same thing will happen this time. “The vast majority of our customers respect the discussion about tariffs because they want trade to be fair,” Mauldin says. “They realize it will be a short-term situation, and they see it as a fairness issue. But they all want definitive answers.”
Regions clients also remain optimistic that the economy will improve, Turner says. During March and April, Regions bankers spent time visiting with more than 60% of their corporate banking customers, which are non-real estate corporate customers, according to Turner. “We have a pretty good sense of their frame of mind,” he says. “I would say customers are still optimistic, but very much in a wait-and-see mode.”
Bankers across the state are taking action to make themselves available to help businesses and consumers manage through the economic uncertainty and hopefully, to arrive financially secure on the other side of the chaos. For example, Regions is investing in new hires across its footprint to focus on building relationships with small businesses, Turner says.
Regions also offers its Greenprint plan, a personalized financial plan, to both businesses and consumers at no charge. “It’s a very intentional approach toward making sure we’re delivering our best advice and guidance to meet people where they are and help them build savings, manage expenses, pay down debt and accomplish any number of other goals,” says Jeremy King, senior vice president, media and public relations manager at Regions.
“This is a time when having an updated financial conversation with your banker can make a real difference,” King adds. “People’s goals are unique. Their opportunities and their challenges are unique. We can deliver some of our best service and support when people know they can come to us, review their finances and set up an actionable plan to navigate those opportunities and challenges. People don’t have to face economic uncertainty alone; they can benefit through the help of financial advice and guidance from people who care.”
Nancy Mann Jackson is a Madison-based freelance contributor to Business Alabama.
This article appears in the July 2025 issue of Business Alabama.
