Which of the following best completes the passage below?

As long as savings deposits are insured by the government, depositors will have no incentive to evaluate the financial strength of a savings bank. Yield alone will influence their choice of bank. To attract deposits, banks will be forced to offer the highest possible interest rates. And since paying higher rates inevitably strains the financial strength of a bank[/blank].

【选项】bank profits will tend to rise to ever-higher levels