NEW YORK: Bargain hunters are swirling around beaten-down shares of US banks, even as skeptical investors say the sector’s problems are likely to persist for some time.

       The S&P 500 bank index is down around 11% in 2023, a year that began with the failure of Silicon Valley Bank and several other lenders in the worst banking crisis since 2008. The broader S&P 500, by contrast, is up around 15%.