BOA leads charge into Treasuries as banks build US$2t holdings

New York

WHAT do America's banks know about the state of the US economy that has them hoarding ultra-safe bonds?

Growth is on a tear, hiring is the strongest in decades and households are the most upbeat since 2011. Yet banks such as Bank of America Corp keep ploughing their burgeoning deposits into US government and related debt - pushing the industry's holdings past US$2 trillion - instead of lending it all out.

Part of the buildup has to do with rules that require banks to hold more high-quality assets in the wake of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression…