KeyCorp Turns Northwest as Regional Banks Seek Growth Across US

America’s regional banks are staking their claims to states primed for growth, focusing on Florida, Texas and other parts of the US South with expanding populations and increasing wealth. KeyCorp, meanwhile, is eyeing a different region: the Northwest.

A commercial bank at its core, Cleveland-based KeyCorp plans to push westward to increase its share of retail deposits in new-economy states such as Washington, home to blue-chip names including Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc.

Chris Gorman during an interview in New York on Nov. 5.

Photographer: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg

“I think the markets in the Pacific Northwest are very rational markets,” Chief Executive Officer Chris Gorman said in an interview. “There’s no question that ...