Big banks had a strong Q3. What about regional banks?

Months after the collapse of a handful of regional banks like Signature Bank, First Republic Bank and Silicon Valley Bank, and amid fears of a credit crisis, it looks like the regional banking sector may not be out of the woods quite yet.

Following the bank closings, many other regional banks have had to pay higher interest rates on deposits in order to prevent customers from heading towards the exit. That eats directly into revenue and profitability.

But its hardly the only thing weighing on the sector as companies report Q3 earnings. Higher yields on US Treasuries, the Federal Reserve's monetary policy campaign and the potential for new capital requirements are top of mind for executives and analysts as the regionals report earnings.

"It's not built into banks' strategic plans to lose money," Nathan Stovall, director of the financial institutions research team for S&P Global Market Intelligence, told CNN. "So they're going to continue to pay higher rates and one of the issues they're seeing is if you want to bring in new money, it's really expensive. They're also seeing their existing customers shift out of lower-yielding product into higher-yielding product, meaning higher rates."

That could mean switching from lower-yielding savings accounts to high-yielding certificates of deposit, which many regional banks are actively advertising.

Inside the regional bank earnings reports, three main themes emerged: More money being stashed away to protect against potential consumer or business loan defaults, the continuing growth of interest income and a modest growth in average deposits.

Those posting gains in net interest income (what banks earn on interest minus what they pay out in deposits) as well as gains in credit loss provisions (the money banks set aside for defaults on loans), included US Bancorp, Regions Financial Corp, M&T Bank Corp., PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. and Commerce Bancshares.