|
Factoids Large-Cap Banks Mid-Cap Banks Excite Daily #s Large-Cap Banks Mid-Cap Banks Banking News Bankstocks.com Prior Updates Dec 2005 Nov 2005 Oct 2005 Sept 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 Feb 2005 Jan 2005 Dec 2004 Nov 2004 Oct 2004 Sept 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 Feb 2004 Jan 2004 Dec 2003 Nov 2003 Oct 2003 |
The 2007 EPS estimates are now posted at Yahoo for all Large-cap stocks except BAC and UBS. So I calculated a roughly sector average growth for both of those, and that way I could post them for all stocks. The javacript would crash if had I used zero estimates or if a posted the alpha-numeric variable "na" in that field. Banc of America analyst McDonald Downgrades Citigroup, Wells Fargo J Stempel, Reuters 1-04 Analysts on Wednesday expressed caution about U.S. banks and future Federal Reserve interest rate activity, and Citigroup and Wells Fargo suffered downgrades, but bank stocks largely held their strong gains from Tuesday. Analysts are concerned that consumer demand for mortgages and other loans may decline, and that the convergence of long- and short-term interest rates, or flattening yield curve, may crimp lending margins. Banc of America Securities analyst John McDonald on Wednesday cut Citigroup, the largest U.S. bank, and Wells Fargo, the fifth-largest, to "neutral" from "buy," saying the banks' shares are nearly fully valued. Meanwhile, Merrill Lynch analyst Edward Najarian said fourth-quarter earnings at big regional banks -- excluding Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase but including most major U.S. banks -- will increase just 6.7% from a year earlier, and be unchanged from the third quarter. He cited margin pressure, weak fee income and higher credit losses from new bankruptcy laws for the weakness. "The banking environment remains challenging, but I do see positives," said Mark Batty, a financial services analyst for PNC Advisors in Philadelphia, which invests $50 billion. "Commercial and industrial loan growth and credit quality are strong. Banks with exposure to capital markets activity, such as Citigroup and JPMorgan, or wealth and asset management have the wind at their backs right now." McDonald said New York-based Citigroup has largely resolved major legal and regulatory issues, including its roles in Enron Corp.'s and WorldCom Inc.'s collapses, and a Federal Reserve order that it improve its ethics and internal controls. The bank is increasingly emphasizing expansion of existing businesses, and adding branches, rather than acquisitions. To improve its stock, Citigroup must demonstrate a "viable strategy ... for sustained organic growth," despite its large size, McDonald said. "This will take time to achieve and is not without cost." Separately, McDonald said San Francisco-based Wells Fargo, has an attractive franchise, strong management, a "balanced operating model and financial conservatism." But he said the bank, which is the No. 2 U.S. mortgage lender, is unlikely to improve its price-earnings ratio in the current environment. McDonald forecast 2006 profit per share of $4.25 for Citigroup and said $5.00 for Wells Fargo "looks achievable." Analysts polled by Reuters Estimates on average forecast $4.34 and $5.01 for the respective banks. McDonald's share price targets are $50 for Citigroup and $65 for Wells Fargo. [From Forbes 1-04] McDonald’s top pick in the sector is Wachovia with a rating of “buy” and $55 price target. His least favorites are Fifth Third Bancorp rated “neutral” with a target price of $36 and North Fork Bancorp rated “neutral” with a target price of $24. Margin Pressure Will Squeeze Results for MidWest's Banks David Weidner, MarketWatch 1-12 In the region, a combination of risks that have dogged such banks as Fifth Third Bancorp and National City Corp, exerted pressure again in the final three months of 2005, analyst Lana Chan of Harris Nesbitt indicated. Those problems include slower balance-sheet growth, net interest-margin compression and lower mortgage-banking revenue. Though many expect interest-rate hikes to end in 2006, it may not offset other drags on bank performance, Chan said. "Bank stocks are trading more on the interest-rate outlook rather than on fundamentals, which we continue to view as challenging given several headwinds," the analyst wrote in a note on Jan. 5. FITB is scheduled to report fourth-quarter earnings on Tuesday before the market opens. Analysts expect the bank to earn 63 cents a share, more than double the earnings reported during the same period last year, according to a survey by Thomson First Call. Part of the challenge for the bank will be in Florida, where its deposits grew only 1.2% in 2005 to $4.81 billion, according to Punk Ziegel analyst Dick Bove. NCC's midquarter review in December underwhelmed analysts who expect charges totaling $70 million as the company continues a restructuring program. Overall, charges could reach $147 million. Among the estimated costs are $27 million tied to the sale of auto loans, $20 million in losses stemming from changes in the bankruptcy law and $27 million tied to the sale of indirect auto loans. "National City apparently realizes it is facing a tough environment and is positioning itself to meet the pressure," Bove said. The bank is expected to report earnings of 67 cents a share, down 7% from the 72 cents earned the same period last year. KeyCorp is expected to earn 67 cents a share, down 4% from the 70 cents the bank earned during the same period a year ago, according to First Call. HBAN is expected to earn 47 cents a share, up from 39 cents last year. Converging Bond Yields & Bankruptcies Threaten Bank's Profits D Enrich, Dow Jones Newswires 1-11 Bank of America, Citigroup and J.P. Morgan Chase will report earnings starting next week, and analysts believe the combination of an unfavorable retail-banking environment and a decline in investment-banking profits compared with a strong Q3 will translate into lackluster results. As was the case for much of 2005, the continued convergence of short- and long-term interest rates is depressing retail-banking profits, chiping away at banks' net interest margin by making it more expensive for them to raise money, and less lucrative to lend it. The yield inversion has bankers and analysts worried that the challenging conditions may drag well into 2006. Piper Jaffray analyst Andrew Collins said Citigroup, Bank of America and J.P. Morgan all likely suffered from compressed net-interest margins in Q4. Mr. Collins said J.P. Morgan probably faced the sharpest contraction, with its margin shrinking 0.04 percentage point to 2.08%. Adding to that pressure could be a slowdown in the housing market, which translates into less mortgage activity and has the potential to crimp fee income, said Guy Moszkowski, an analyst with Merrill Lynch. Another big factor affecting Q4 retail banking results was the enactment of a federal law that makes it harder for people to file for bankruptcy-court protection. The law triggered a tidal wave of filings right up until the law took effect in mid-October. Analysts expect that the big banks each racked up hundreds of millions of dollars in costs to wipe bad loans off their books. In November, J.P. Morgan warned it will record $2.3 billion in credit-card charge-offs in Q4 because of the law, which could cut earnings between six and 13 cents a share. Analysts, which point out the bankruptcy spike is a one-time phenomenon, said the same trends are expected to deflate fourth-quarter earnings at many regional banks. They generally lack the extensive investment-banking operations that help diversify the megabanks, and therefore tend to be more vulnerable to a flat or inverted interest-rate yield curve. However, top regional players such as Wachovia and Wells Fargo are likely to emerge unscathed. The megabanks are also expected to post strong quarters in their capital-markets operations, which include investment-banking and trading operations. But the performances might not seem so impressive compared to Q3, when an unexpected capital-markets boom lifted earnings. In particular, analysts think revenue from fixed-income trading, which was the shining star of the third quarter, may fall substantially. Sandler O'Neill analyst Jeffrey Harte predicts that Citigroup's corporate and investment banking arm will see profits fall 5% in Q4 -- largely because of a 20% drop in revenue from fixed-income trading. That will "more than offset" expected progress in equity trading and investment banking, Mr. Harte said. J.P. Morgan and Bank of America will probably face similar situations. John McDonald, an analyst with Banc of America Securities, expects J.P. Morgan's investment-banking earnings to "decline meaningfully," largely due to weaker fixed-income trading. And analysts doubt that Bank of America will duplicate the rich profits from trading and private-equity gains that it reaped in the third quarter. U.S. Bancorp Reports $2.42 EPS for 2005 - Up 11% Businesswire 1-17 U.S. Bancorp reported net income of $1,143 million for Q4-05, compared with $1,056 million for Q4-04. Net income of $.62 per diluted share in Q4-05 was higher than Q4-04 by $.06 (10.7%). Return on average assets and return on average equity were 2.18% and 22.6%, respectively, for Q4-05, compared with returns of 2.16% and 21.2%, respectively, for Q4-04. U.S. Bancorp Chairman and CEO Jerry Grundhofer said, "We achieved record earnings of $4.5 billion in 2005. This represented $2.42 per diluted share, an 11.0% increase over our 2004 results. This is the fourth consecutive year that we have exceeded our long-term goal of 10% earnings per share growth. We also improved upon our industry leading performance metrics and posted return on assets of 2.21% and return on average equity of 22.5% for the year. Fourth quarter net interest income on a taxable-equivalent basis was $1,785 million, compared with $1,800 million recorded in Q4-04. Average earning assets for the period increased over the fourth quarter of 2004 by $12.2 billion (7.1%), primarily driven by a $5.3 billion (35.1%) increase in residential mortgages, a $3.6 billion (8.9%) increase in total commercial loans and a $2.7 billion (6.3%) increase in total retail loans. The positive impact to net interest income from the growth in earning assets was offset by a lower net interest margin. The net interest margin in Q4-05 was 3.88%, compared with 4.20% in Q4-04. The decline in the net interest margin reflected the current lending environment, asset/liability management decisions and the impact of changes in the yield curve from a year ago. Since the fourth quarter of 2004, credit spreads have tightened by approximately 25 basis points across most lending products due to competitive pricing and a change in mix due to growth in lower-spread, fixed-rate credit products. The net interest margin also declined due to funding incremental asset growth with higher cost wholesale funding, share repurchases and asset/liability decisions designed to minimize USB's rate sensitivity position, including an 18.3% reduction in the net receive fixed swap position since December 31, 2004. An increase in the margin benefit of net free funds and loan fees partially offset these factors. Fourth quarter noninterest income was $1,546 million, an increase of $111 million (7.7%) from Q4-04, and $30 million (1.9%) lower than Q3-05. Wells Fargo Reports $4.50 EPS for 2005 - Up 10% Businesswire 1-17 Wells Fargo reported record diluted earnings per common share of $4.50 for 2005, compared with $4.09 in 2004, up 10%. Net income was a record $7.7 billion, up 9% from $7.0 billion in 2004. For 2005 WFC's return on equity of 19.6%. For Q4-05, net income was $1.9 billion, or $1.14 per share, compared with $1.8 billion, or $1.04 per share, for Q4-04, an increase in EPS of 10%. The incremental personal bankruptcy filings nationwide immediately before the 10-17-05 change in bankruptcy law, increased Q4 charge-offs by $171 million, or $.07 per share. Net interest income for Q4-05 increased 9% from a year ago and 14% (annualized) on a linked-quarter basis. "During a year in which the Fed raised rates eight times and the yield curve became 'non-existent,' our net interest margin remained essentially flat -- declining by only 4 basis points -- and at 4.84 percent remained the highest margin among large bank holding companies," said CFO Howard Atkins. "In part, our margin performance reflected the benefit of selling $48 billion of the lowest-yielding ARMs on our balance sheet throughout 05 to further improve our earning asset yield, also the highest among large bank holding companies. During Q4-05, additional balance sheet repositioning actions included a $124 million loss on the sale of $11 billion of debt securities and $16 million of losses related to the sale of $4.5 billion of ARMs. Net interest margin has also performed better than our peers due to our ability to grow transaction and savings deposits while maintaining our deposit pricing discipline." Noninterest income decreased $59 million from Q4-04. The decrease was due to three factors: First, Q4-05 results included $55 million in mortgage servicing rights (MSRs) valuation allowance release, down from a release of $234 million in Q4-04. Second, the losses totaling $124 million in Q4-05 related to the sale of debt securities for balance sheet repositioning compared with gains of $3 million in Q4-04. Third, while equity investment gains remained strong at $93 million, they were down from last year's exceptionally high $170 million. The remaining balance of noninterest income increased 10% with fee income growth across our businesses, with particular strength in service charges on deposit accounts, trust, investment and IRA fees, and card fees. Total nonperforming assets were $1.53 billion (.49% of total loans) at December 31, 2005, essentially flat compared with $1.49 billion (.50%) at September 30, 2005, and $1.57 billion (.55%) at year-end 2004. JP Morgan Chase Reports $.76 EPS for Q4-05 - Up from $.46 Businesswire 1-17 JPMorgan Chase reported Q4-05 net income of $2.7 billion, or $0.76 per share, compared with net income of $1.7 billion, or $0.46 per share, for Q4-04. Current period results included $77 million (pre-tax) of merger expenses, or $0.01 per share, a $1.2 billion pretax boost from the sale of its BrownCo online-brokerage business to E*Trade. Prior-year reported results included $523 million (pre-tax) of merger charges and a charge of $525 million (pre-tax) to conform accounting policies, or $0.18 per share. Investment Bank - Operating earnings of $664 million were essentially flat from the prior year and down 38% from the prior quarter. Net revenue of $3.2 billion was flat compared with the prior year and down 29% from the prior quarter. Retail Financial Services - Operating earnings of $803 million were up by $28 million, or 4%, from the prior year. Net revenue of $3.6 billion was up by $49 million, or 1%, from the prior year. Net interest income of $2.5 billion declined by $170 million, or 6%. The decline was related to the sale of loan portfolios in late 04 and early 05 and spread compression on loans and deposits. These decreases were offset partially by higher home equity and deposit balances. Noninterest revenue of $1.1 billion was up by $219 million, or 25%. The improvement was largely driven by an increase of $236 million in MSR risk management revenue to $49 million and higher auto operating lease income, offset in part by the loss on the transfer of mortgage loans to held-for-sale. Card Services - Operating earnings of $302 million were down by $213 million, or 41%, from the prior year. The lower results for the quarter reflected approximately $650 million in pre-tax net loan losses and reversals of revenue related to increased bankruptcies. Net revenue was $3.7 billion, down by $109 million, or 3%, from the prior year. Commercial Banking - Operating earnings were $289 million, up by $35 million, or 14%, from the prior year. Net revenue was a record $937 million, up by $52 million, or 6%, from the prior year. Treasury & Securities Services - Operating earnings were a record $300 million, up by $155 million, or 107%, from the prior year. Earnings benefited from higher revenues due to increased product volumes, wider spreads on higher average liability balances and lower expenses. Net revenue of $1.6 billion was up by $202 million, or 14%, from the prior year. Asset & Wealth Management - Operating earnings were $342 million, up by $79 million, or 30%, from the prior year. Net revenue was $1.5 billion, up by $201 million, or 15%, from the prior year. Bank of New York Reports $2.03 EPS for 2005 - Up from $1.85 Businesswire 1-18 The Bank of New York reported Q4 net income of $405 million compared with $351 million in the year-ago quarter and diluted earnings per share of 53 cents, up 18% over the 45 cents earned in Q4-04. Q3-05 earnings were $389 million and 51 cents. Full-year 2005 net income was $1,571 million compared to $1,440 million in 2004 while diluted earnings per share was up 10% to $2.03 from $1.85 in 2004. Double-digit securities servicing fee growth over the fourth quarter and full-year 2004 periods reflects solid growth across all businesses. On a sequential-quarter basis, fees were marginally higher, reflecting modest growth in execution & clearing, issuer services, and broker-dealer services. BK operates some bank branches in the New York area, but focuses on mutual-fund administration and securities servicing. SunTrust Earns $5.45/Share for 2005 - Up from $5.19 in 2004 PRNewswire 1-19 SunTrust Banks reported net income for Q4-05 of $513.8 million, up 13% from Q4-04. Net income per diluted share was $1.41, up 12% from Q4-04. Net income excluding merger expense was $1.43, up 9% from Q4-04. Net income excluding merger expense excludes $4.1 million of after-tax merger charges incurred in Q4-05 associated with SunTrust's acquisition of NCF, which closed on October 1, 2004. For the full year 2005, theSTI reported net income of $1,982.6 million, up from $1,572.9 million earned in the same period in 2004. Net income per diluted share was $5.45, up from $5.19 earned in the same period in 2004. Net income per diluted share excluding merger expense was $5.62 for the full year 2005, up 7% from the same period in 2004, despite the dilution effect from the NCF merger. Return on average total assets was 1.16% in Q4-05, 1.19% in Q3-05 and 1.13% in Q2-05. Return on average total shareholders' equity was 12.08% in Q4-05, 12.05% in Q3-05 and 11.48% in Q2-05. Fully taxable net interest income was $1,207.1 million in Q4-05, up 10% from Q4-04. The primary factor driving the net interest income growth year-over-year has been strong loan growth. Loans have grown 14% on average from Q4-04. The net interest margin of 3.10% for Q4-05 was down two basis points from Q3-05 primarily due to an increase in loans held for sale at a compressed margin. Loans held for sale increased by $3.4 billion on average, or 40%, in the fourth quarter from Q3-05, driven mainly by record mortgage volume from Q3. Although the net interest margin declined in Q4-05, fully taxable net interest income increased $31.3 million, or 11%, in Q4 compared to Q3-05 on a sequential annualized basis. For the full year 2005, fully taxable net interest income was $4,654.5 million, up from $3,743.6 million for the same period in 2004. For the full year 2005, fully taxable net interest income was up 7% from the same period in 2004 on an estimated historical combined basis. Total noninterest income was $790.4 million for Q4-05, up 4% from Q4-04. The increase in noninterest income resulted from growth in mortgage related income, trust and investment management income and card fees. For the full year 2005, noninterest income was $3,147.6 million, up from $2,604.4 million for the same period in 2004. For the full year 2005, noninterest income was up 6% from the same period in 2004 on an estimated historical combined basis, with the drivers being the same as noted for the Q4 increase. Nonperforming assets decreased from $362.7 million, or 0.32% of loans, other real estate owned and other repossessed assets at 9-30-05 to $334.2 million, or 0.29% of loans, other real estate owned and other repossessed assets at 12-31-05. Wachovia Earns $4.19/Share for 2005 - Up 27% PRNewswire 1-19 WB had had a 92% total return for shareholders since 2001 - this is #1 among the 20 largest banks. This return was driven by EPS growth and not valuation. Wachovia reported record net income of $1.71 billion, or $1.09 per share, in Q4-05 compared with $1.45 billion, or 95 cents per share, in Q4-04. Excluding after-tax net merger-related expenses of 2 cents per share in Q4-05 and 4 cents in Q4-04, earnings were $1.74 billion, or $1.11 per share, in Q4-05 compared with $1.50 billion, or 99 cents per share, in Q4-04. Full year 2005 net income was a record $6.64 billion, up 27% from 2004, and earnings per share were up 10% from 2004 to a record $4.19. Excluding after-tax net merger-related expenses of 11 cents per share in 2005 and 14 cents in 2004, earnings in 2005 were $6.81 billion, or $4.30 per share, compared with $5.42 billion, or $3.95 per share, in 2004. Net interest margin was 3.25% in Q4-05, 3.18% in Q3-05, 3.23% in Q2-05, and 3.37% in Q4-04. Return on equity was 14.60% in Q4-05, 13.95% in Q3-05, and 13.50% in Q4-04. Citigroup Earns $4.75/Share for 2005 - Up from $3.26 Businesswire/AP/WSJ 1-20 Citigroup reported net income for Q4-05 of $6.93 billion, or $1.37/share. Return on common equity was 25.0%. Net income includes a $2.1 billion after-tax gain on the sale of asset management, which closed in the fourth quarter. Citigroup approved an 11% increase to the quarterly dividend of 49 cents/share from 44 cents/, payable on 2-24 to stockholders of 2-6. The company also announced that it had bought back $4.4 billion of its outstanding shares during the fourth quarter. For the year, net income totaled $24.6 billion, or $4.75 a share, up 44 percent from $17.05 billion, or $3.26 a share, in 2004. Revenues were $83.6 billion, up 5 percent from $79.6 billion in 2004. Quarterly revenue from continuing operations was up 3% to $20.78 billion from $20.11 billion. A difficult interest-rate and pricing environment for Citigroup's lending and credit-card products, particularly in the U.S., muted the double-digit overseas revenue growth it enjoyed during the quarter in its well-performing investment-banking and international credit-card businesses. Excluding the $2.1 billion gain on the sale of its asset management business to Legg Mason, net income fell about 3% from the year-earlier quarter to $4.97 billion and earnings per share were flat at 98 cents. Revenue totaled $20.78 billion for the latest quarter, up 3% from $20.1 billion a year earlier. The results were weaker than analysts expected. Wall Street projections were for profits of $1 a share on revenue of $21.6 billion, according to a survey by Thomson Financial. KeyCorp Earns $2.73/Share for 2005 - Up from $2.30 AP 1-20 KeyCorp on Friday reported a 39% increase in earnings in the October-December period and projected higher profits for 2006. KeyCorp said its profits rose to $296 million, or 72 cents per share, for the quarter ended Dec. 31 from $213 million, or 51 cents per share, a year earlier. The fourth quarter 2004 earnings included a $46 million charge to account for the sale of a home equity loan portfolio and plans to sell a car loan portfolio. Without the charge and other expenses, earnings would have totaled $290 million, or 70 cents a share. Revenue was $1.31 billion for the quarter, up 11% from $1.17 billion a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected the company to earn 67 cents per share on revenue of $1.25 billion. For the full year, Keycorp posted earnings of $1.13 billion, or $2.73 per share, compared with profits of $954 million, or $2.30 per share, in 2004. Regions Earns $2.15/Share for 2005 AP 1-20 Regions announced Earnings of 62 cents per share in Q4-05 excluding 7 cents in merger and other charges, up 2% linked quarter and 11% annually; reported earnings of 55 cents per share which includes merger and other charges. Earnings of $2.39 per share for the year ended Dec. 31, 2005, excluding merger and other charges; reported earnings of $2.15 per share. For the full year 2005, Regions earned a record $1 billion, or $2.15 per diluted share, including $115 million (25 cents per diluted share) in after-tax merger-related and other costs. In 2004, Regions reported net income totaling $823.8 million, or $2.19 per diluted share, including $40.5 million (10 cents per diluted share) in after-tax merger-related and other costs. Regions' July 1, 2004, merger with Union Planters Corporation was accounted for as a purchase; therefore, the former Union Planters is only included in 2004 financial data for six months compared to a full 12 months in 2005. FTE net interest income grew an annualized 4.8% linked quarter and 7.7% year-over-year fourth quarter. A respective 8 basis point and 25 basis point improvement in the net interest margin to 4.01% provided a boost to net interest income. Credit quality was outstanding in the fourth quarter. On a linked-quarter basis, non-performing assets dropped 7.6 percent to $406.9 million (0.70 percent of loans and other real estate) from $440.5 million at Sept. 30, 2005. Resolution of a single commercial credit largely explained the decline. Non-performing assets were 10% lower than year-end 2004. Fourth quarter net loan charge-offs were $40.4 million, or an annualized 0.28 percent of average loans. This compares to third quarter's annualized 0.25 percent and year-ago fourth quarter's annualized 0.33 percent. Full year 2005 net charge-offs totaled 0.23 percent of average loans. During the fourth quarter, Regions repurchased 3.8 million common shares at an average cost of $33.65 per share. This brought full-year 2005 buybacks to 16.6 million shares and leaves authorization to repurchase up to an additional 27.6 million shares of common stock as part of an active capital management program. Regions also approved a one cent increase in the quarterly common dividend to $0.35 per share, payable on Feb. 15, 2006, to shareholders of record as of Feb. 1, 2006. Bank of America Reports 2005 Earnings of $4.15/Share PRNewswire 1-23 Bank of America reported that 2005 net income rose 19% to $16.89 billion from $14.14 billion a year earlier. Per-share earnings (diluted) increased 12% to $4.15 from $3.69. Return on average assets 1.15% in Q4-05 vs. 1.33% in Q4-04. ROA was 1.33% in 2005 vs. 1.35% in 2004. Return on average common shareholders' equity 15.05% in Q4-05 vs. 15.63% in Q4-04. ROE was 17.03% for 2005 vs. 16.83% for 2004. For 2005, revenue grew 16% while noninterest expense increased 6 percent, producing positive operating leverage of 10 percentage points. Revenue growth was driven by a 28% increase in noninterest income, including equity investment gains, higher card income, and trading account profits. For Q4-05, net income was $3.77 billion, or $.93 per share (diluted), compared to $3.85 billion, or $.94 per share a year earlier. Net interest income on a fully taxable-equivalent basis was $8.1 billion, compared to $7.95 billion the previous year. The increase was driven by the impact of consumer and middle market business loan growth and higher levels of domestic deposits. The impact of these increases was offset by the effects of a flattening yield curve and a lower trading-related contribution. The net interest yield decreased 36 basis points to 2.82%. Noninterest income increased 5% to $6.26 billion from $5.97 billion. These results were driven by increases in card income, mortgage banking income and equity investment gains. The efficiency ratio for Q4-05 was 50.95% (50.54% excluding merger and restructuring charges). Nonperforming assets were $1.60 billion, or 0.28 percent of total loans, leases and foreclosed properties, as of December 31, 2005. This compared to $1.60 billion, or 0.29%, at September 30, 2005 and $2.46 billion, or 0.47% on December 31, 2004. U.S. Bancorp and Subsidiaries Upgraded by Standard & Poor's Businesswire 1-27 Standard & Poor's Ratings Services announced today that it has raised the ratings on U.S. Bancorp, including its counterparty credit ratings, to AA-/A-1+ from A+/A-1. S&P also raised its long-term counterparty credit ratings on U.S. Bancorp's subsidiaries, U.S. Bank National Association and U.S. Bank National Association N.D., to AA from AA-. This AA rating is currently the highest rating given by S&P to any domestic bank. The rating agency also revised its outlook for U.S. Bancorp to stable from positive. Credit analyst Victoria Wagner had the following remarks regarding U.S. Bancorp in the S&P announcement "The ratings upgrade for U.S. Bancorp and its units reflects the company's sector-leading core earnings performance and a consistency of performance throughout a challenging interest rate cycle. The ratings also reflect the company's lower credit risk profile, which has translated into lower credit costs and lower volatility of operating results." The S&P announcement included the following information on U.S. Bancorp: "U.S. Bancorp operates with the highest pretax operating margin of all of the large regional and large complex banks. Given U.S. Bancorp's low-cost, core retail funding profile and close management of interest rate risk, core earnings should benefit with rising interest rates and a steeper yield curve. "U.S. Bancorp maintains strong market positions in several business lines, including merchant processing (the nation's third largest), corporate trust, and corporate credit cards. The high number of diverse national business lines has consistently generated a high level of core profitability even in the midst of challenging credit and interest rate cycles. "U.S. Bancorp's quarterly capital-generating capacity remains strong, and its current level of strong profitability should be sustainable given its strong operating efficiencies, business and revenue diversification, and the high component of fee-based revenues. The successful build-out and growth of key nonbanking businesses have driven the strong level of revenue diversification. Critical capital and asset quality measures are expected to stay within U.S. Bancorp's normal historic range." Banks and the Flat Yield Curve Clint Riley, WSJ 1-30 For almost a year, the flat Treasury yield curve loomed on the horizon. Bankers could see it coming. They had time to plan, knowing that the narrowing spread between short- and long-term interest rates squeezes their profits. But the flattening yield curve has stymied even some of the most sophisticated and well-equipped banks in the U.S. The nation's three biggest banks -- Citigroup, Bank of America and J.P. Morgan Chase -- were expected by many analysts to move past the flat yield curve in 2005 and beyond without sustaining significant damage to their bottom lines. But all three [like many smaller brethren] posted disappointing results for Q4, and investors punished their share prices. Each cited the flat yield curve as a contributing factor, an obstacle many bankers and bond traders see in place until at least midyear. The difference between the short and long-term rates affects profits from not only borrowing short and lending long, but also from bank's credit-card operations and their currency, securities and other financial trading. Banks that are unable to raise all the money they need to lend or conduct trades must also borrow money on a short-term basis. With the long-term and short-term interest rates about the same, that is a much less-profitable exercise. At the close of trading Friday, two-year Treasury notes and 10-year Treasury notes yielded 4.50% and 4.52%, respectively. Making matters worse for the big banks that conduct financial trades all over the globe, is that the world really is flat. "There is a very flat yield curve globally for different reasons, even in some emerging markets," said Brad Setser, head of global research for the Roubini Global Economics Monitor. "I really don't see where the easy money is. No matter how sophisticated you are, you can't get away from the basics of banking: Borrow short, lend long," he said. Citigroup, which operates in more than 100 countries, reported this month that during 2005 its cost of acquiring funds rose 62%, or $4.2 billion, from the previous year. Driving the overall increase was an 80%, or $2.9 billion, jump in the cost of acquiring funds for trading at Citigroup's global investment bank. "...We will not have the opportunity to earn more if the yield curve stays as flat, not just in the U.S., but around the world," said Citigroup's CFO, Sallie Krawcheck. And speaking of the tougher, flat yield-curve environment, Bank of America CFO Alvaro G. de Molina said: "I wouldn't have predicted that we'd be here now." Jeff Harte, a banking analyst at Sandler O'Neill, was among the analysts who believed C, BAC and JPM would use their diversity, scale and sophisticated interest-rate management to limit the financial harm a flattening yield curve can wreak. Harte got that wrong. Harte currently has "buy" ratings on C and JPM and a "hold" on BAC. Still, he and other analysts are cautiously optimistic about 2006 when it comes to the yield curve's impact on the big banks' performance. "The bulk of the damage has been done," said Mr. Harte. "The question is when does it get better?" Net interest margins of the big banks appear to have stabilized in Q4. Of the three biggest banks, BAC showed the most improvement from Q3 to Q4, followed by C and JPM. But JPM is Harte's only pick among the three big banks that might produce an "upside surprise" for investors in 2006, driven in part by its investment-banking and mortgage- and commercial-lending businesses. It is deposit-gatherer Wachovia that remains a top 2006 pick on the lists of a significant number of bank analysts. Wachovia "is probably doing the best to mitigate the curve by being nimble and keeping home-equity loans and mortgages on the balance sheet," said Joseph Dickerson, a banking analyst with Atlantic Equities. "They had the best performance vis-à-vis the curve in the quarter from both fee and net interest income in my point of view." Wachovia also boosted the amount of commercial loans and non-interest-bearing deposits on its books from 2004 to 2005 at a faster clip than each of its larger, more global peers. Banks with a strong commercial-lending business that have access to cheaper core deposits are expected to fare better in the current interest-rate environment. Dickerson, who maintains a $60 target price and "overweight" rating on Wachovia, doesn't own stock in any of the banks. He has "neutral" ratings on BAC and JPM, and an overweight rating on C. January Ratings Changes On 1-04 Banc of America Securities cut Citigroup and Wells Fargo to "neutral" from "buy," saying the banks' shares are nearly fully valued. Coverage initiated on US Bancorp by Friedman Billings. On 1-11 CSFB downgraded BB&T from Neutral to Underperform, FITB from Neutral to Underperform, and RF from Neutral to Underperform. On 1-23 Harris Nesbitt Upgraded KEY from Neutral to Outperform. December Ratings Changes On 12-16 Sun Trust Rbsn Humphrey Upgraded RF from Reduce to Neutral. On 12-15 UBS Upgraded KEY from Neutral to Buy. On 12-15 Morgan Keegan Initiated WB at Outperform. On 12-14 UBS Initiated BK at Neutral. 12/06/05 US Bancorp given a "neutral weight" by Prudential Financial, US Bancorp given a “market perform” by Punk Ziegel, US Bancorp downgraded to "Neutral" by Merrill and on 12/05 US Bancorp upgraded to "Strong Buy" by Raymond James. The 2007 EPS estimates are now posted at Yahoo for all Large-cap stocks except BXS, FNB, FMER, ONB, SKYF, SUSQ, WL and VLY. So I calculated a temporary EPS estimate that is roughly equal to the sector average growth for those, so I could then post 07 EPS's for all stocks. The javacript would crash if I had used zero estimates or posted the alpha-numeric variable "na" in that field. Sky Acquires Peter B. Burke Insurance Agency PRNewswire 1-03 Sky Financial Group announced today the acquisition of Peter B. Burke Agency, Inc. located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Peter B. Burke is a full-service insurance agency that specializes in property and casualty insurance and surety services. The agency was merged with and into Sky Insurance, Inc., Sky Financial's insurance agency affiliate. Modest Earnings Seen for Southern Banks Robert Schroeder, MarketWatch 1-12 Analysts are expecting a group of Southern U.S. banks to report only modestly higher earnings next week as borrowing costs rise and investment opportunities sag. Banks are being hard-hit by the inverting of the yield curve in December, in which the yield on short-term Treasury notes exceeded that of long-term Treasurys. Thanks to that unusual phenomenon, banks can no longer turn profits by borrowing cheap money at short-term rates and then turning around and lending it at more-expensive long-term rates. Fears stoked by the inverted yield curve are appearing before the banks even start reporting. Credit Suisse First Boston downgraded both BB&T and Regions Financial to "underperform" on Jan. 11, citing the coming end of low borrowing costs. Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call are expecting BB&T to report earnings of .80/share, matching Q3 earnings. BB&T reported earnings of .75/share in Q4-04. Regions Financial is expected to report Q4 earnings of .62/share. In Q3, the bank largely shrugged off disruptions caused by Hurricane Katrina to post earnings of .61/share. Regions announced earnings of .56/share a year ago. Analysts' consensus for SunTrust is earnings of $1.43/share, up only a penny from Q3 and $1.31 in 04. SunTrust is expecting its recently announced buy of 11 of Community Bank's Wal-Mart branches to close late in Q1, boosting the bank's presence in Florida. While analysts see some Southern regional banks holding steady or gaining only modestly in the fourth quarter, AmSouth is predicted to lose a little value. The consensus estimate for AmSouth is .50/share versus .51/share in Q3. Estimates for Q1 are up only slightly from the year-ago figure of .49/share. Both Compass Bancshares and Synovus are expected to report earnings modestly above last quarter's. Compass is seen announcing earnings of 82 cents a share, up from 80 cents in Q3. Compass reported earnings of .73/share in 2004. Analysts expect Synovus to announce earnings of .44/share. It reported earnings of 43 cents last quarter and 38 cents in Q4-04. Synovus is in talks to acquire Riverside Bancshares. TCB Increases Dividend to 23 Cents/Share PRNewswire 1-17 TCF Financial Corporation (TCB) announced, for the fifteenth consecutive year, an increase in the regular quarterly cash dividend to 23 cents/share. This represents an 8% increase over the 2005 quarterly dividend of 21.25 cents per common share. The dividend is payable 2-28 to shareholders of record on 1-27-06. AmSouth Reports 2005 Earnings of $2.04/share Businesswire 1-17 AmSouth reported earnings for Q4-05 of $.52 per diluted share, compared to $.49 for Q4-04. Net income for Q4-05 was $182.1 million versus $176.9 million for Q4-04. AmSouth's Q4 performance resulted in a return on average equity of 20.4%, a return on average assets of 1.40%, and an efficiency ratio of 51.7% for Q4. For the year, reported earnings were a record $725.7 million or $2.04 per diluted share, compared with $1.74/share in 2004. Results for 2004 included charges related to a regulatory settlement. Excluding those expenses, earnings would have been $675.9 million or $1.89/share in 2004, resulting in earnings per share growth of 7.9% in 2005. Return on equity for 2005 was 20.4%, return on assets was 1.43%, and the efficiency ratio was 52.0%. Net interest income in Q4 grew to $392.2 million, or an annual rate of 18.6% compared with the prior quarter, and the net interest margin expanded 6 basis points during the quarter to 3.37%. Strong loan growth continued, particularly in Commercial Real Estate, which grew 19.9%, and Residential Mortgage lending, which grew 20.4% compared with Q4-04. Low-cost deposits grew $2.5 billion or 11.4% during the same period. Noninterest revenue, which includes earnings from service charges, trust, investment services, interchange, and other sources of fee income, was $216.9 million for the quarter. Total nonperforming assets at December 31, 2005, were $122.9 million, or 0.34% of loans net of unearned income, foreclosed properties and repossessions, compared to $98.1 million, or 0.29%, in the previous quarter. For 2006, AmSouth management expects earnings per share for the full year to be in the range of $2.11 to $2.17. Associated Banc-Corp Earns $2.43 Per Share in 2005 Businesswire 1-20 Associated Banc-Corp earned $0.64 per diluted share in Q4-05, up 12% from $0.57 per share earned in the fourth quarter of 2004, and up from $0.63 per share in the third quarter of 2005. Net income for Q4-05 was $87.6 million, up 24% from Q4-04 net income of $70.9 million, and up 8% overQ3-05 net income of $81.0 million. Associated earned $2.43 per diluted share in 2005, up 8 percent from 2004. Net income for 2005 was $320.2 million, up 24 percent from $258.3 million in 2004. Associated's acquisition of First Federal Capital, a $4 billion thrift, on Oct. 29, 2004, and of State Financial Services, a $1.5 billion commercial bank, on Oct. 3, 2005, affect comparisons to past periods. Return on average assets and return on average equity for the year ended Dec. 31, 2005, were 1.53% and 15.24%, respectively. This compares to an ROA of 1.58% and an ROE of 17.22% in 2004. Return on average tangible equity (which excludes the average of goodwill and other intangible assets from average equity) was 23.47% for 2005 compared to 22.11 percent in 2004. Book value per share rose to $17.15 as of Dec. 31, 2005, up 10 percent compared to a year earlier. Associated's net interest income for 2005 was $672.3 million, up 22% from 2004's $552.6 million. Net interest margin for 2005 was 3.64%, compared to 3.80% for 2004. For Q4-05, net interest income was $175.6 million, up $11.5 million or 7% over Q3-05. The net interest margins were 3.59% for Q4 versus 3.56% in Q3. Noninterest income for 2005 was $291.1 million, up 38% from $210.2 million in 2004. Annual growth occurred in trust service fees (up 10% to $35.0 million) driven by growth in new business; service charges on deposits (up 55% to $86.8 million) given our larger customer base; retail commissions (up 20% to $56.6 million) predominantly from insurance revenues; and in mortgage banking, net (up 79% to $36.4 million), influenced by an average portfolio serviced for others of $9.3 billion in 2005 versus $6.5 billion in 2004, and by secondary mortgage production of $1.58 billion in 2005 versus $1.62 billion in 2004. In 2005 net charge-offs were $12.7 million (or .09% of average loans), compared to $17.3 million (or 0.15% of average loans) in 2004. Nonperforming loans at Dec. 31, 2005, totaled $98.6 million, or 0.65% of loans, compared to $115.0 million, or 0.83% of loans, a year ago. Associated repurchased approximately 3.5 million shares of its common stock in 2005 at an average cost of $32.43 per share (including the two accelerated share repurchases during 2005 totaling approximately 3 million shares), compared to 1.1 million shares at an average cost per share of $30.43 during 2004. Associated starts 2006 with an authorization to repurchase approximately 2.6 million shares. BancorpSouth Net Income Rises to $1.47 for 2005 PRNewswire 1-23 BancorpSouth's net income for 2005 rose 4.1% to $115.2 million, or $1.47 per diluted share, from $110.6 million, or $1.43 per diluted share, for 2004. Excluding the impact of Hurricane Katrina, changes in the valuation of the MSA and net securities gains or losses, net income for 2005 increased 6.4 percent to $114.7 million, or $1.46 per diluted share, from $107.9 million, or $1.38 per diluted share, for 2004. For the fourth quarter of 2005, BancorpSouth's net income increased 41.5 percent to $34.8 million from $24.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2004. Return on average assets was 1.22% in Q4-05 vs. 0.93% in Q4-04 and 1.05% for 2005 vs. 1.05% in 2004. Return on common equity was 14.38% in Q4-05 vs. 11.13% in Q4-04 and 12.33% for 2005 vs. 12.67% in 2004. Interest revenue for Q4-05 increased 18.8%, or $23.7 million, to $150.0 million from $126.3 million for Q4-04 and 5.8% from $141.8 million for Q3-05. Interest expense increased 35.6%, or $15.1 million, to $57.7 million for Q4-05 from $42.6 million for Q4-04 and 8.2% from $53.3 million for Q3-05. The average taxable equivalent yield on earning assets increased to 5.86% for Q4-05 from 5.25% for Q4-04 and 5.74% for Q3-05. The average rate paid on interest bearing liabilities was 2.69% for Q4-05, compared with 2.07% for Q4-04 and 2.54% for Q3-05. Net interest revenue increased 10.3% to $92.3 million for Q4-05 from $83.7 million for Q4-04 and 4.3% from $88.4 million for Q3-05. Net interest margin was 3.64% for Q4-05 compared with 3.51% for Q4-04 and 3.61% for Q3-05. Noninterest revenue increased 22.8% to $53.7 million for Q4-05 compared with $43.7 million for Q4-04. Noninterest revenue for Q4-05 included a net positive impact of $7.2 million, consisting of hurricane-related insurance proceeds, the recovery of a previously recorded impairment of the MSA and net securities gains, offset by lost noninterest revenue related to hurricane relief. Non-performing loans and leases fell 15.3% to $28.8 million, or 0.39% of loans and leases, at December 31, 2005, from $34.0 million, or 0.50% of loans and leases, at December 31, 2004, while increasing 20.6% from $23.9 million, or 0.34% of loans and leases, at September 30, 2005. BancorpSouth repurchased 219,100 shares of its common stock during Q4-05. Compass Bancshares Earnings for 2005 up 12% Businesswire 1-16 Compass Bancshares reported record earnings of $401.8 million for 2005, a 12% increase over the $360.2 million earned during 2004. For the same time period, EPS increased 11% to $3.18 from $2.87 in 2004. Return on average assets and return on average shareholders' equity for 2005 were 1.36% and 18.52%, respectively. Earnings for Q4-05 increased 11% to $102.1 million compared to $92.2 million earned during Q4-04. EPS for Q4-05 increased 11% to $0.81 from $0.73 in the prior year. Return on average assets and return on average shareholders' equity for Q4-05 were 1.34% and 18.24%, respectively. Net interest margin increased to 3.58% from 3.49% a year ago. Nonperforming assets as a percentage of loans and other real estate decreased to 0.28% compared to 0.37% at year-end 2004. Net interest income was up 9%; noninterest income increased 10%. Total loans increase 13% from year ago. Total deposits increase 20%. Noninterest bearing deposits increase 11% from 2004. Comerica Reports Income of $1.25/Share PRNewswire 1-19 Comerica reported Q4-05 earnings of $207 million, or $1.25 per diluted share, compared to $238 million, or $1.41 per diluted share, for Q3-05 and $207 million, or $1.21 per diluted share, for Q4-04. Net income for 2005 was $861 million, or $5.11 per diluted share, compared to $757 million, or $4.36 per diluted share, for 2004. Return on average common shareholders' equity was 16.90% and return on average assets was 1.64% for 2005, compared to 15.03% and 1.49%, respectively, for 2004. Net interest income was $501 million for Q4-05, compared to $512 million for Q3-05 ($492 million without the previously reported warrant accounting adjustment) and $466 million for Q4-04. The $9 million increase in net interest income from the adjusted Q3-05 level resulted from the spread improvement provided by noninterest-bearing deposits in a rising interest rate environment. Average earning assets of $49.8 billion for Q4-05 increased $698 million from Q3-05, primarily as a result of a $667 million, or one percent, increase in average loans to $45.2 billion for Q4-05. The net interest margin was 4.00% in Q4-05, compared to 4.15% for Q3-05 (3.99% without the warrant accounting adjustment). The Q4-05 net interest margin benefited from a greater contribution from noninterest-bearing deposits in a higher rate environment. Noninterest income was $281 million for Q4-05, compared to $232 million for Q3-05 and $203 million for Q4-04. Commercial lending fees, investment advisory revenue and card fees each experienced linked-quarter growth, while most other categories remained relatively flat. Noninterest expenses were $487 million for Q4-05, compared to $422 million for Q3-05 and $380 million for Q4-04. Nonperforming assets decined to 37 basis points from 52 basis point in Q3-05 and 83 basis point in Q4-04. Colonial Reports Earnings of $1.52/Share & Increases Dividend PRNewswire 1-19 The Colonial BancGroup Chairman, CEO and President, Robert Lowder, announced that CNB had record earnings for the year ended December 31, 2005 of $1.52 per diluted share, a 16% increase over the $1.31 recorded in 2004. Net income for the year was a record $229 million, a 32% increase over the $173 million recorded in 2004. Net income for Q4-05 was $61.5 million compared to net income of $46.3 million for Q4-04, an increase of 33%. Diluted earnings per share were $0.40 in Q4-05 compared to $0.34 per share in Q4-04, an 18% increase. Colonial's net interest income [$186.563 million] increased 25% over 2004 and increased 3%, annualized, compared to Q3-05. The net interest margin for 2005 was 3.75%, a 23 basis point improvement over 2004, and increased to 3.85% in Q4-05, a 7 basis point increase over Q3-05, representing the ninth consecutive quarter of net interest margin expansion. Noninterest income [$43.573 million] for Q4-05, excluding gains or losses on securities, derivatives and branches, grew 15% over Q4-04 but was down $2.8 million from Q3-05. Non-performing assets declined to 21 basis points from 24 basis points in Q3-05 and 29 basis points in Q4-04. CNB declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.17 per share of Colonial BancGroup common stock, an 11% increase over the $0.1525 paid to shareholders quarterly in 2005. This represents the 16th consecutive annual increase in dividends. FNB Net Income Falls to $0.98 for 2005 from $1.29 in 2004 PRnewswire 1-23 F.N.B. Corporation reported Q4-05 net income of $4.7 million, or $.08/share. These Q4-05 results compare to net income of $15.8 million, or $.31 per diluted share, for Q4-04 and net income of $18.1 million, or $.32/share, for Q3-05. This year's Q4 results included after-tax charges of $11.0 million, or $.19/share, related to FNB's previously announced balance sheet restructuring, efficiency initiatives and merger costs. Net income for the full year 2005 was $55.3 million, or $.98/share, included after-tax restructuring charges, efficiency initiatives, merger costs and lower income taxes from a settlement of an uncertain tax position, all of which netted a cost of $10.7 million after-tax, or $.19/share. These results compare to net income in 2004 of $61.8 million, or $1.29/share, which also included after-tax restructuring charges, merger costs, discontinued income from Sun Bancorp and a gain on the sale of branches, all of which netted a gain of $4.4 million after-tax, or $.09/share. For the year 2005, return on equity was 12.4% and return on tangible equity was 23.6%. For the year 2004, return on equity was 23.54% and return on tangible equity was 30.42%. Return on average assets was 0.99% in 2005 and 1.29% in 2004. Earnings for Q4-05 were influenced by the Corporation's sale of $570 million lower yielding investment securities resulting in a pre-tax loss of $13.3 million. FNB recorded a $2 million pre-tax impairment write-down on an equity security received in exchange for a minority interest in Sun. FNB recorded merger expenses associated with the consummation of the acquisition of The National Bank of North East as well as non-interest expenses related to efficiency improvements totaling $1.7 million pre-tax resulting in an aggregate fourth quarter after-tax effect of $11.0 million, or $.19 per diluted share. Interest income, on a fully tax equivalent basis, was up 2.3% in Q4-05 compared to the previous quarter and 16.1% over the same period last year. The net interest margin for Q4-05 was 3.77%, consistent with the third quarter of 2005, reversing a trend of a narrowing margin experienced the past few quarters. Non-interest income for Q4-05 was $2.4 million. First Horizon Reports Earnings of $3.40/Share PrimeZone 1-18 First Horizon National announced Q4-05 earnings of $113.0 million or $.87 diluted earnings per share before the cumulative effect of a change in accounting principle, net of taxes. Earnings including the $3.1 million unfavorable cumulative effect were $109.9 million or $.85 diluted earnings per share for Q4-05. Q4-04 earnings were $103.1 million or $.81 diluted earnings per share. Return on average shareholders' equity and return on average assets including the cumulative effect were 19.4% and 1.16%, respectively, for Q4-05. Excluding the cumulative effect, return on average shareholders' equity and return on average assets were 19.9% and 1.19%, respectively, compared to 20.8% and 1.40% for Q4-04. Fourth quarter results include a charge of $3.1 million, net of taxes, reflecting the cumulative effect of a change in accounting principle related to the adoption of FASB Interpretation No. 47, ``Accounting for Conditional Asset Retirement Obligations.'' FIN No. 47 requires recognition of a liability at the time of acquisition or construction for assets that will require certain remediation expenditures when the assets are removed from service. The adoption of FIN No. 47 is not expected to have a material effect on earnings in 2006. For the twelve months ended December 31, 2005, earnings were $438.0 million or $3.40 diluted earnings per share, including the cumulative effect adjustment. Earnings before the cumulative effect were $441.1 million or $3.42 diluted earnings per share compared to $454.4 million or $3.54 diluted earnings per share for 2004. For the twelve months ended December 31, 2005, return on average shareholders' equity and return on average assets were 20.4% and 1.20%, respectively. Excluding the cumulative effect, return on average shareholders' equity and return on average assets were 20.6% and 1.21%, respectively, compared to 23.9% and 1.66% for the same period in 2004. Net interest income increased 18% to $227.2 million in Q4-05 from $193.3 million in Q4-04. The increase in net interest income is primarily attributable to 18% loan growth, with commercial loans growing 31% to $9.5 billion from $7.3 billion and retail loans growing 8% to $10.3 billion from $9.5 billion. This growth resulted from expansion of the sales force, which increased market share in the core bank, as well as cross-sell opportunities in FHN's national markets where we have a substantial mortgage presence. Deposits increased 14% or $1.4 billion over Q4-04. Net interest margin in Retail/Commercial Banking was 4.19% in Q4 and has remained stable compared to last year. Noninterest income increased 4% to $136.2 million in Q4-05 from $130.6 million in Q4-04. Fees from deposit services charges increased 12% or $4.5 million compared to Q4-04 due to the deposit growth and pricing initiatives. The stable risk profile of both the commercial and retail loan portfolios was demonstrated as the net charge-off ratio continued to remain at low levels with 22 basis points in Q4-05 compared to 26 basis points in Q4-04. FMER Reports Net Income of $1.56 for 2005 from $1.21 in 2004 2-24 FMER reported net income of $130.5 million or $1.56/share for 2005. ROA in Q4 was 1.07% and ROE was 11.52%. Net interest income was $88.152 million compared to $88.347 million in Q3-05 and $87.933 million in Q4-04. Net interest margin was 3.73% in Q4-05 compared to 3.70% in Q3-05 and 3.76% in Q4-04. FULT Reports Net Income of $1.05 for 2005 from $.99 in 2004 1-17 Fulton Financial earned $166.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2005, an 11.0% increase over the same period in 2004. Diluted net income per share for the year increased to $1.05, a 6.1% increase over the 99 cents reported (as restated) in 2004. Total assets at December 31, 2005 were approximately $12.4 billion. Fulton Financial reported net income of $40.9 million for Q4-05, a 2.2% increase over $40.0 million for the same period in 2004. Diluted net income per share was 26 cents, unchanged from Q4-04. Annualized return on average assets was 1.32% for the quarter, while annualized return on average equity was 12.65% and annualized return on tangible equity was 19.89%. Net interest income for Q4-05 increased $14.4 million, or 15.4%, compared to Q4-04. The increase from Q3-05 was $1.4 million, or 1.3%. Fulton Financial's net interest margin was 3.92% for the both the fourth and third quarters of 2005, as well as Q4-04. HBAN Reports Net Income of $1.77 for 2005 from $1.71 in 2004 1-18 Huntington Bancshares reported Q4-05 earnings of $100.6 million, or $0.44/share, up 10% and 13%, respectively, from $91.1 million, or $0.39/ share, in the year-ago quarter. Earnings in the 2005 third quarter were $108.6 million, or $0.47 per common share. Earnings for full-year 2005 were $412.1 million, or $1.77 per common share, up 3% and 4%, respectively, from $398.9 million, or $1.71 per common share, in 2004. Return on average assets was 1.22% in Q4-05 compared to 1.32% in Q3-05 and 1.13% in Q4-04. Return on average shareholders' equity was 15.5% in Q4-05 compared to 16.5% in Q3-05 and 14.6% in Q4-04. FTE net interest income increased $5.6 million, or 2%, from the year-ago quarter, primarily reflecting the favorable impact of a $0.9 billion, or 3%, increase in average earning assets, partially offset by a 4 basis point decline in the net interest margin. The fully taxable equivalent net interest margin of 3.34%, declined from 3.38% in the year-ago quarter [but up from 3.31% in Q3-05], as the net interest margin in the year-ago quarter included a 6 basis point positive impact related to a securitization funding cost adjustment. Excluding this impact, Q4’s net interest margin would have increased 2 basis points from the year-ago period. ONB Reports Earnings of $1.15 for 2005 from $.86 in 2004 1-31 National Bancorp announced fourth-quarter earnings from continuing operations of $19.5 million, or $.28 per share. This compares with income from continuing operations of $18.9 million, or $.28 per share, in the third quarter of 2005 and $16.4 million, or $.23 per share, in the fourth quarter of 2004. Net income, which includes results from discontinued operations, mirrored income from continuing operations for the fourth quarter of this year as the impact of the sales of all discontinued operations were completed during the third quarter. For the twelve-months ended December 31, 2005, income from continuing operations was $78.6 million, or $1.15 per share, compared to $60.3 million, or $.86 per share, earned in 2004. Full year 2005 net income was $63.8 million, or $.93 per share, compared to $63.1 million, or $.90 per share, for 2004. Return on Average Assets was .92% in Q4-05 compared to .21% in Q3-05. Return on Average Equity was 11.69% in Q4-05 compared to 2.66% in Q3-05. For the fourth quarter of 2005, net interest income was $58.8 million; down $2.1 million from the third quarter of the year. The decline in average earning assets from the third quarter from $7.714 billion to $7.616 billion, higher than anticipated core deposit costs due to competitive pressures, and a $.6 million charge to interest expense for a terminated Federal Home Loan Bank advance, caused the company's net interest margin to decrease from 3.16% to 3.09%. For 2005, net interest income was $240.7 million producing a margin of 3.09% compared to net interest income of $255.7 million and a margin of 3.08% for 2004. SKYF Reports Net Income of $1.69 for 2005 from $1.93 in 2004 1-19 Sky Financial Group reported Q4-05 net income of $53.7 million, or $.49/share, compared to $49.3 million, or $.46/share, for Q4-04. Annualized return on assets and return on equity for the fourth quarter were 1.39% and 13.89%, respectively, compared with 1.33% and 13.55%, respectively, for the same period in 2004. The net income for Q4-05 and Q4-04 included income from discontinued operations of $0.4 million and $0.4 million, respectively. For the full year 2005, Sky reported net income of $182.6 million, or $1.69 per diluted share versus $194.4 million, or $1.93 per diluted share for the prior year. Net interest income for Q4-05 was $132.2 million, up 6.4% from $124.3 million in Q4-04. The net interest margin for the fourth quarter was 3.76%, up 1 basis point from the third quarter of 2005 and up 8 basis points from Q4-04. SNV Reports Net Income Increase 1-18 Synovus’ fourth quarter net income grew 15.6% over the fourth quarter 2004 to $137.3 million, which represented earnings per share growth of 14.9% to $.44 per share. For the full year, net income grew 18.2% and earnings per share increased 16.5% over 2004. Return on assets was 2.00% and return on equity was 18.74% |