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Non-Tech : Banks--- Betting on the recovery -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Road Walker who wrote (412)	4/22/2009 10:09:18 AM
From: tejek	Respond to of 1428

Freddie Mac Chief David Kellerman Commits Suicide wcbs880.com

To: Road Walker who wrote (412)	4/22/2009 10:17:03 AM
From: tejek	Respond to of 1428

On its CC last nite, USB said the problems are getting predictable, and can be gamed and gauged; that the consumer is handling the debtload. US Bancorp bucks gloomy trend among regional banks By Greg Farrell in London Published: April 21 2009 19:36 \| Last updated: April 22 2009 00:05 US regional banks on Tuesday provided investors with a mixed picture of the state of the financial sector as stronger-than-expected earnings from US Bancorp helped counter the gloom resulting from big losses at Zions Bancorp. US Bancorp, based in Minnesota, reported net income of $529m, a 60 per cent increase over its earnings for the fourth quarter of 2008, demonstrating that major regional players could benefit from the forces that helped generate last week’s profit announcements from the biggest US banks. But other regional banks, particularly smaller ones, did not fare as well. EDITOR’S CHOICE In depth: US banks - Apr-03Fresh questions on Pandit’s future at Citi - Apr-20US custody banks hit by profits slump - Apr-21In depth: Citigroup - Jan-16“I think there is some clear delineation between big healthy institutions and the plain-vanilla small-cap regional banks,” said analyst Andrew Marquardt of Fox-Pitt Kelton. “They’re having much worse results in terms of charge-offs and reserve builds.” Alabama-based Regions Financial, which cut its dividend to 1 cent per share last week, eked out a profit of 4 cents per share on earnings of $77m. Utah-based Zions surprised investors late Monday by announcing a loss of $832m, reflecting its exposure to commercial real estate. Analysts said they were impressed by US Bancorp’s increase in market share and its ability to build up reserves against future charge-offs. The bank’s stock was up 17 per cent to $18.65 in late trading. Mr Marquardt said US Bancorp’s credit reserves of $1.3bn, almost triple the amount reserved a year ago, is a healthy sign, compared with other regional banks, such as Comerica, which so far have not reserved against a similar percentage of loans. Zions was down 18 per cent in late trading. Sandler O’Neill slapped a sell rating on the stock, while Moody’s downgraded the bank’s debt ratings because of Zions’ large exposure to commercial real estate loans, as well as its portfolio of collateralised debt obligations. Mr Marquardt described KeyCorp’s results for the quarter as disappointing and questioned whether the Ohio bank would have to cut its dividend again. As for Regions, its earnings and outlook would be negatively affected in the near term by the recession, which is now hitting the south-eastern part of the US with particular ferocity, the analyst added. ft.com