|
Factoids Yahoo Banks Excite Banks Banking News Bankstocks.com Prior Updates Dec 2006 Nov 2006 Oct 2006 Sept 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 Feb 2006 Jan 2006 2005 Updates Dec Nov Oct Sept Aug July Jun May Aprl Mar Feb Jan 2004 Updates Dec Nov Oct Sept Aug July Jun May Aprl Mar Feb Jan 2003 Updates Dec Nov Oct |
Wells Fargo sees buying opportunity ahead for small banks Bizjournals.com 1-05 Wells Fargo is ready to step up its acquisition of small banks but still has no plans for a major merger despite Wachovia's big splash into the California market. "We haven't done any banking deals in the last three quarters because they're still not economic, but they're getting closer to being economic," said John Stumpf, president and chief operating officer of the San Francisco bank that enjoys an industry reputation as a disciplined buyer. Stumpf sees opportunity emerging for Wells to do small bank deals as the industry's smaller players face serious headwinds. With short-term interest rates higher than long-term ones, it's harder for bankers to make money. Meanwhile, loan losses on consumer loans are returning to historic norms after many years of better performance, and increased regulation is on the horizon. But don't look for Wells to do a mega-merger anytime soon. CEO Dick Kovacevich stoked those smoldering embers when he said late last year that he could see his bank one day combining with an East Coast rival. Wachovia, the nation's fourth-largest bank with a branch network along the East Coast and into the Deep South, has long been seen as an attractive merger partner. But Stumpf did his best to allay such talk in a recent interview with the Business Times. "I don't buy into the strategy that you have to be a national company to be relative and to be competitive," Stumpf said. "We have an enormous opportunity to do more with existing customers." Analysts doubt Wells will engage in a major merger in the near future. "The company plans to build out its distribution network through new branches, increased sales staff, and investments in technology," Joe Morford, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets in San Francisco, wrote in a research report last month after hosting investor meetings with Wells CFO Howard Atkins. "A large out-of-market acquisition is still unlikely, largely because of the opportunity costs and the potential integration risks. "According to management, 'markets east of the Mississippi are considered international,'" Morford said. Instead, Morford sees the nation's fifth-largest bank focusing on Southern California and the other states along the Mexican border -- Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. These markets feature strong population growth and above-average household incomes, Morford said. In California last year, Wells added 38 new branches and plans to open a similar number in the state this year. The bank opens about 100 new branches annually. Bank of America & Countrywide are in Merger Talks Reuters 1-26 Bank of America and Countrywide Financial [the largest U.S. mortgage lender] are in talks that could lead to a joint venture or merger, the Financial Times said on its Web site on Friday. Citing people close to the matter, the newspaper said the two companies have held talks about a possible combination. Bank of America might acquire Countrywide in a transaction that could value the latter at $30 billion, or enter a joint venture under which it would use its branch network to sell home mortgages originated by Countrywide, the newspaper said. Talks are at an early stage and could fall apart, it said. "I think it makes sense for B of A," said Brian Rohman, who helps manage $30 billion at Robeco Investment Management in New York. "B of A is a quintessential consumer bank, with retail banking and credit cards, so this fits into that. You could make the case that they are buying assets when they are out of favor. You can't argue with the logic of that." BAC Q4-06 Net Income $1.16 vs. $0.88 in Q4-05 PRNewswire 1-23 Bank of America Corporation reported that 2006 net income rose 28% to $21.13 billion from $16.47 billion a year earlier, reflecting both the addition of MBNA at the start of the year and organic growth in most major customer segments. Per share earnings increased 14% to $4.59/share from $4.04/share last year. ROE for the year was 16.27%. Excluding pre-tax merger and restructuring charges of $805 million, or 11 cents per share, Bank of America earned $21.64 billion, or $4.70 per share, for the full year 2006. In Q4-06, net income was $5.26 billion, or $1.16/share, compared with $3.57 billion, or $0.88/share, a year earlier. Excluding pre-tax merger and restructuring charges of $244 million, equal to 3 cents per share, earnings per share were $1.19. For Q4-05, pre-tax merger and restructuring charges were $59 million, or 1 cent per share. ROA was 1.39% in Q4-06 compared to 1.09% in Q4-05. ROE was 15.76% in Q4-06 compared to 14.21% in Q4-05. Book value per share at the end of Q4-06 was $29.70 compared to $25.32 at the end of Q4-06. The increase in 2006 earnings was driven by growth in card income, including the addition of MBNA, strong growth in capital markets and investment banking activities reflecting BAC's recent investments in those areas, increased equity investment gains, growth in service charges paced by deposit account growth, higher other income and strong expense control. These improvements were partially offset by higher credit costs, again in part because of the addition of MBNA. For the year, revenue on a fully taxable-equivalent basis increased 30% while expenses rose 24%. On a pro forma basis (adjusting for the inclusion of MBNA), revenue increased 10% while expenses were flat. Net interest income on a fully taxable-equivalent basis was $8.96 billion, compared with $8.10 billion a year earlier. Besides the addition of MBNA, the increase was driven by loan growth and increased benefits from asset and liability management activity, partially offset by lower core deposit levels. The net interest yield tightened 7 basis points to 2.75%. Noninterest income rose 66 percent to $9.87 billion from $5.95 billion. BK Q4-06 Net Income $0.58 vs. $0.53 in Q4-05 Press Release & MarketWatch 1-18 The Bank of New York reported Q4-06 net income of $1,789 million and diluted eanings per share of $2.36. On an adjusted basis, excluding merger and integration costs and the gain on the sale of the Retail Business, Q4 diluted EPS was 58 cents, an encrease of 9% from 53 cents in Q4-05, and net income was $435 million, Up from $405 million in Q4-05. ROE for Q4-06 was 14.95% compared to 11.61% in Q3-06 and 13.89% in Q4-05. ROA was 1.66% in Q4-06 compared to 1.19% in Q3-06 and 1.40% in Q4-05. Book value per common share was $15.35 at the end of Q4-06 compared to $13.70 at the end of Q3-06 and $12.81 at the end of Q4-05. Bank of New York and Mellon agreed in December to merge to create one of world's largest custodial banks and asset managers. Assets under custody rose to $13 trillion from $10.9 trillion in the year-ago period, while total assets under management increased to $190 billion from $155 billion a year earlier. Total securities servicing fees rose to $958 million from $814 million the previous year, although execution and clearing services fees decreased 19% to $264 million, the company said. Net interest margin rose to 2.27% from 1.96% a year earlier. Citigroup Q4-06 Profit Falls 26%, but Beats Analysts' Estimates Businesswire / AP 1-19 Citigroup reported net income for Q4-06 of $5.13 billion, or $1.03/share compared to $1.37/share in Q4-05. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had projected earnings of $1.00 a share on revenue of $22.45 billion. Results include previously disclosed charges of $415 million after-tax in Japan consumer finance to increase reserves and reposition the business. For the full year 2006, net income was $21.54 billion, or $4.31/share, down 12% from $24.6 billion, or $4.75 a share in 2005. Revenues were a record, up 15%, driven by 14% revenue growth in corporate and investment banking, 79% in alternative investments and 21% in global wealth management. Global consumer revenues increased 9%. Operating expenses increased 23%, including 4 percentage points due to increased investment spending, 3 percentage points due to acquisitions and foreign exchange, and 2 percentage points due to SFAS 123(R) accruals. The remaining expense growth was driven by higher business volumes. ROE was 17.2% for Q4-06 and 18.80% for 2006. C computes ROA by sector. Book value Per Share at the end of Q1-05 was $21.03, $21.65 at the end of Q2-05, $21.88 at the end of Q3-05, $22.37 at the end of Q4-05, $22.82 at the end of Q1-06, $23.15 at the end of Q2-06, $23.78 at the end of Q3-06 and $24.18 at the end of Q4-06. Citigroup has approved a 10% dividend increase to 54 cents per share from 49 cents per share, payable on February 23, 2007, to stockholders of record on February 5, 2007. JP Morgan's Q4-06 Net Income $1.26 vs. $.76 in Q4-05 Businesswire 1-16 JPMorgan Chase reported Q4-06 net income of $4.5 billion [$1.26/share] compared with net income of $2.7 billion [$0.76/share] for Q4-05. Reported results include a $622 million after-tax gain related to exiting the corporate trust business in Q4-06. Income from continuing operations was $3.9 billion [$1.09/share] in Q4-06 compared with $2.6 billion [$0.74/share] for Q4-05. Current-quarter results also include $359 million of benefits related to tax audit resolutions and after-tax merger expense of $62 million. Debt underwriting fees of $771 million were up 51% driven by record loan syndication and strong bond underwriting fees. Advisory fees of $482 million were up 41%, which reflected strength across regions. Both debt underwriting and advisory performance benefited from high levels of corporate and financial sponsor activity in the quarter. Equity underwriting fees of $327 million were up 5% reflecting strength in common stock offerings in Europe and the Americas. Fixed Income Markets revenue of $2.0 billion was up 77% from a weak prior-year quarter with improved performance in credit markets, currencies, and emerging markets, partially offset by lower results in securitized products. Compared with the prior quarter, Fixed Income Markets were down 17% from a strong prior quarter due to weaker commodities. Equity Markets revenue of $909 million nearly doubled from the prior year on strength in cash equities and equity derivatives and reflected strong performance across regions. Credit Portfolio revenue of $263 million was down 43%, largely reflecting lower gains from loan workouts. The Investment Bank's net income of $1.0 billion increased by $342 million, or 51%, compared with the prior year. Earnings growth reflected record revenue, primarily offset by higher expense and the lack of a benefit from the provision for credit losses. Compared with the prior quarter, net income increased by $33 million, or 3%, reflecting higher revenue and lower expense, primarily offset by a higher provision for credit losses. Card Services net income of $719 million was up by $417 million from the prior year. Retail Financial Service's net income of $718 million was down by $85 million, or 11%. Commercial banking's net income of $256 million was down by $23 million, or 8%, from the prior year, driven by an increase in provision for credit losses, largely offset by record net revenue. Results for the current quarter include the impact of the acquisition of The Bank of New York's middle-market business. Keys's Q4-06 Net Income $.76 vs. $.69 in Q4-05 PRNewswire 1-19 KeyCorp announced Q4-06 income from continuing operations of $311 million [$0.76/share] compared to $284 million [$0.69/share] for Q4-05, and $305 million [$0.74/share] for Q3-06. Earnings per share from continuing operations increased 10% compared to Q4-05. Key's income from continuing operations for 2006 was $1.193 billion [$2.91/share] compared to $1.090 billion [$2.63/share] in 2005. ROA for Q4-06 was 1.33% compared to 1.31% in Q3-06 and 1.26% in Q4-05. ROE for Q4-06 was 15.63% compared to 15.52% in Q3-06 and 14.96% in Q4-05. Book value at the end of Q4-06 was $19.30 compared to $19.73 at the end of Q3-06 and $18.69 at the end of Q4-05. Net income totaled $146 million [$0.36/share] for Q4-06, compared to net income of $296 million [$0.72/share] for Q4-05, and $312 million [$0.76/share] for Q3-06. Key's net income for 2006 was $1.055 billion [$2.57/share] compared to $1.129 billion [$2.73/share] in 2005. Net interest income was $744 million for Q4-06, compared to $716 million for the year-ago quarter. Average earning assets grew by 4%, due primarily to a 5% increase in commercial loans. The net interest margin was 3.66%, compared to 3.68% for the same period one year ago. During the fourth quarter of 2006, Key's net interest margin benefited from a $16 million lease accounting adjustment resulting from a change in effective state tax rates, and an $8 million principal investing distribution received in the form of a dividend. These two items added approximately 12 basis points to the taxable-equivalent net interest margin for the current quarter. Key's noninterest income was $558 million for Q4-06, compared to $552 million for Q4-05. Key's noninterest expense for Q4-06 was $809 million, down from $812 million for Q4-05. Mellon's Q4-06 Net Income $.57 vs. $.50 in Q4-05 Businesswire 1-16 Mellon Financial reported income from continuing operations of $298 million, or 72 cents per share, in Q4-06 compared to income from continuing operations of $201 million, or 48 cents per share, in Q4-05, and $218 million, or 52 cents per share, in Q3-06. Net income totaled $237 million, or 57 cents per share, in Q4-06, and included a net after-tax loss of $61 million from discontinued operations due primarily to a loss on the sale of the venture capital portfolios. Net income totaled $208 million, or 50 cents per share, in Q4-05, and $222 million, or 54 cents per share, in Q3-06. Income from continuing operations for the full-year 2006 totaled $932 million, or $2.25 per share, compared with $884 million, or $2.11 per share, in 2005. Income from continuing operations for the full-year 2005 included a $197 million pre-tax gain from the sale of our investment in Shinsei Bank, which together with other expenses of $15 million pre-tax, netted to 28 cents per share. Net income, including discontinued operations, for the full-year 2006 totaled $898 million, or $2.17 per share, compared with $782 million, or $1.87 per share, for the full-year 2005. Total noninterest revenue increased $325 million, or 30%, and represented 93% of total revenue. ROE and ROA are not meaningful numbers for some of Mellon's portfolio of assets and for those in which Mellon give the numbers - they are not comparable [Examples: Return on common equity (annualized for Asset Management) was 74% in Q4-06, 50% in Q3-06 and 43% in Q4-05. Return on common equity (annualized for Private Wealth Management) was 35% in Q4-05, 34% in Q3-06 and 32% in Q4-05.]. Book value per common share was $11.26 at the end of Q4-06 compared to $10.91 at the end of Q3-06 and $10.11 at the end of Q4-05. PNC Q4-06 Net Income $1.27 vs. $1.20 in Q4-05 PRNewswire 1-23 The PNC Financial Services Group reported record 2006 net income of $2.6 billion, or $8.73/share, compared with 2005 net income of $1.3 billion, or $4.55 per diluted share. PNC earned adjusted net income of $1.5 billion, or $5.06/share, for the year. Adjusted net income for 2006 excluded, after-tax, a $1.3 billion gain on the BlackRock/Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (MLIM) transaction, a $127 million loss on the repositioning of PNC's securities portfolio, $47 million in BlackRock/MLIM transaction integration costs and a $31 million loss on the repositioning of PNC's mortgage loan portfolio, as noted in the adjustments on page 13 of this release. Net income for Q4-06 was $376 million, or $1.27/share. Excluding BlackRock/MLIM transaction integration costs of $8 million after-tax, adjusted net income for Q4-06 was $384 million, or $1.30/share. Net income was $355 million, or $1.20/share, in Q4-05. ROE for the year was 27.97%, or 16.24%, as adjusted - compared to 16.58% in 2005. For Q4-06, ROE was 13.82%, or 14.10%, as adjusted, compared to 16.91% in Q4-05. Book value per common share was $36.80 at the end of Q4-06 compared to $36.60 at the end of Q3-06 and $29.21 at the end of Q4-05 Taxable-equivalent net interest income totaled $571 million for the quarter, an increase of $3 million compared with the year-earlier period and a decrease of $3 million compared with Q3-06. The net interest margin in Q4-06 was 2.88%, compared with 2.96% in Q4-05 and 2.89% in Q3-06. The increase in net interest income over the prior year quarter was largely the result of increased interest income from loans and securities, partly offset by the higher cost of deposits and borrowings. Noninterest income totaled $969 million, or $979 million as adjusted for BlackRock/MLIM transaction integration costs, for the fourth quarter of 2006 compared with $1.2 billion, or $837 million as adjusted, for the same quarter in the prior year, and $2.9 billion, or $832 million as adjusted, in the third quarter of 2006. STI Q4-06 Net Income $1.46 vs. $1.43 in Q4-05 PRNewswire 1-19 SunTrust Banks reported 2006 net income available to common shareholders was a record $2,134.8 million, up 7% from $1,987.2 million in 2005, and net income per average common diluted share was $5.88, up 7% from $5.47 in 2005. Net income available to common shareholders for Q4-06 was $523.6 million, up 1% from $518.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2005. Net income per average common diluted share was $1.46, up 2% from $1.43 in Q4-05. ROA in Q4-06 was 1.16% compared to 1.18% in Q3-06, 1.18% in Q2-06, 1.19% in Q1-06 and 1.15% in Q4-05. . ROE was 11.77% in Q4-06 compared to 12.10% in Q3-06, 12.61% in Q2-06, 12.64% in Q1-06 and 12.19% in Q4-05. Book value per common share was $48.85 as of December 31, 2006. Fully taxable-equivalent net interest income was $1,185.2 million in Q4-06, down 2% from the fourth quarter of 2005. Total noninterest income was $882.6 million for Q4-06, up 11% from Q4-05. Total noninterest expense in Q4-06 was $1,233.8 million, up 2% from Q4-05. TCB Q4-06 Net Income $0.42 vs. $0.50 in Q4-05 PRNewswire 1-19 TCF Financial Corporation reported diluted EPS of $1.90 for 2006, down 5% from $2.00 in 2005. Net income for 2006 was $244.9 million, compared with $265.1 million for 2005. Net income for 2006 included $5.8 million in pre-tax gains on sales of buildings and mortgage servicing rights and a $6.1 million reduction of income tax expense for a combined after-tax impact of eight cents per diluted share. 2005 net income included $24.3 million in pre-tax gains on sales of buildings and mortgage-backed securities, a $3.3 million commercial loan recovery and a $14 million reduction in income tax expense for a combined after-tax impact of 25 cents per diluted share. Diluted earnings per share was 42 cents for the 2006 fourth quarter, compared with 50 cents for the same 2005 period, a decline of 16 percent. The fourth quarter of 2006 net income included an $851 thousand, or one cent per diluted share, reduction in income tax expense. Net income for the fourth quarter of 2005 included $3.5 million in pre-tax gains on sales of buildings and branches and an $8.8 million reduction in income tax expense for a combined after-tax impact of nine cents per diluted share. ROA in Q4-06 was 1.49%, 1.86% in Q3-06, 1.92% in Q2-06, 1.71% in Q1-06 and 2.01% in Q4-05. ROE in Q4-06 was 20.68%, 26.44% in Q3-06, 27.75% in Q2-06, 23.82% in Q1-06 and 27.09% in Q4-05. Book value per common share at the end of Q4-06 was $7.92 compared to $7.46 at the end of Q4-05. TCF's net interest income in Q4-06 was $135.9 million, up $6.6 million, or 5.1%, from Q4-05. Net interest margin in the fourth quarter of 2006 was 4.07 percent, compared with 4.31 percent last year and 4.11 percent in Q3-06. Total non-interest income was $489.5 million for 2006, up $11.2 million, or 2.3 percent, from 2005. Fees and service charges were $270.2 million for 2006, up $7.5 million, or 2.9 percent, from 2005, primarily due to the growth in deposit accounts. Card revenues totaled $92.1 million for 2006, up $12.3 million, or 15.4 percent, from 2005 primarily due to an increase in active accounts and customer transaction volumes. TCF announced an increase in the regular quarterly dividend to 24.25/share. This represents a 5.4% increase over the 2006 quarterly dividend of 23 cents per common share. The dividend is payable on February 28, 2007 to common stockholders of record at the close of business on February 2, 2007. TCF's 10-year compounded dividend growth rate is the 5th highest among the 50 largest banks in the country. WB Q4-06 Net Income $1.20 vs. $1.09 in Q4-05 PRNewswire 1-23 Wachovia reported net income of $2.30 billion, or $1.20/share, in Q4-06 compared with $1.71 billion, or $1.09/share, in Q4-05. Excluding after-tax net merger-related expenses of 1 cent per share in Q4-06 and 2 cents per share in Q4-05, earnings were $2.33 billion, or $1.21/share, in Q4-06 compared with $1.74 billion, or $1.11/share, in Q4-05. Full year 2006 net income was $7.79 billion, up 17 percent from 2005, and earnings per share were up 11%t from 2005 to a record $4.63. Excluding after-tax net merger-related expenses of 7 cents in 2006 and 11 cents in 2005, earnings in 2006 were $7.91 billion, or $4.70/share, compared with $6.81 billion, or $4.30/share, in 2005. ROA was 1.30% in Q4-06 compared to 1.36% in Q3-06 and 1.40% in Q4-05. ROE was 12.98% in Q4-06 compared to 15.02% in Q3-06 and 15.52% in Q4-05. Book value per common share was $30.95 at the end of Q4-06 compared to $30.55 at the end of Q4-05. Net interest income in Q4-06 was $3,490 million compared to $3,523 million in Q4-05. Net interest margin in Q4-06 was 3.09 % compared to 3.03% in Q3-06 and 3.18% in Q4-05. Fee and other income was $3,517 million in Q4-06 compared to $2,989 million in Q4-05. Wells Fargo's Q4-06 EPS $2.49, up 11% Businesswire 1-16 Wells Fargo reported record diluted earnings per common share of $2.49 for 2006, up 11% from $2.25 in 2005. Net income was a record $8.48 billion, up 11% from $7.67 billion in 2005. For Q4-06, net income was $2.18 billion, or $0.64 per share, compared with $1.93 billion, or $0.57 per share, for Q4-05, an increase in earnings per share of 12%. ROA was 1.79% in Q4-06 compared to 1.63% in Q4-05. ROE was 18.99% in Q4-06 compared to 19.22% in Q4-05. Book value per common share was $13.58 at the end of Q4-06 compared to $12.12 at the end of Q4-05. Net interest income for Q4-06 increased 4% from a year ago and was relatively flat from Q3-06. For the fourth quarter, the net interest margin increased 14 basis points to 4.93% on a linked-quarter basis, increased 9 basis points from a year ago and increased 10 basis points from mid-2004 when the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates. "The increase in the margin was driven by several factors," said Chief Financial Officer Howard Atkins. "First, we sold our lowest-yielding long-term securities in Q3, in part related to our use of securities to hedge a portion of our mortgage servicing rights (MSRs). Second, high-quality, higher-yielding commercial and consumer loans grew solidly in Q4 relative to lower-yielding securities and mortgages held for sale. Third, we continued to experience good deposit growth while maintaining our deposit pricing discipline." Noninterest income increased $710 million, or 19%, from Q4-05 and 49% (annualized) on a linked-quarter basis. Noninterest income increased across the Company's businesses with strong double-digit increases from Q4-05 in trust and investment fees (up 18%); debit and credit card fees (up 22%); other fees, primarily commercial real estate brokerage (up 15%); and insurance fees (up 10%). Capital markets and equity investment results also were strong during the quarter. At December 31, 2006, the unrealized net gains on securities available for sale were $926 million. Ratings Changes On 1-05 Piper Jaffray Downgraded BK from Outperform to Market Perform. On 1-26 Banc of America Upgraded WB to buy from neutral at Banc of America Securities, with the broker saying the risk-to-reward ratio is more favorable after the stock's underperformance in 2006 and the bank's fourth-quarter results. On 1-19 S&P reiterated its strong buy rating on Citigroup following it's profit report. "Results were stronger than we expected in investment banking, alternative investments and wealth management," analyst Frank Braden said in a note to clients. "International consumer results were hurt by higher credit costs and increased investment spending." He said he's concerned about the growth of operating expenses, "but believe recent actions taken by C should produce benefits over the coming quarters." Home Page Factoids Previous Update |