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Abstract
By using the sustainable growth paradigm and seemingly unrelated regression (SURE), this study analyzes US banks’ financial indicators (profit margin, earning retention, asset turnover, and leverage) before and during the COVID pandemic. In addition, structural variables such as bank size, agricultural lending, loan diversification, and liquidity have been taken into consideration. Results indicate that agricultural banks have higher profitability and higher growth on average than non-agricultural banks. Banks’ decision to retain earnings is independent of the anticipated growth during the COVID period suggesting a more cautious stance. Bank’s growth is negatively related to its size in the PRE-COVID period. The findings reveal important implications useful for banks to minimize risk, to improve financial health, and even to avert failure during similar economic crises in future.