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Bank Stocks Do It Again: Financial Winners

Mon, 20 May 2013 16:44:04 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Capital One was the winner among the nation's largest banks on Monday, with shares rising 2% to close at $61.81.

The broad indices all ended with slight declines, but bank stocks continued their amazing run, with the KBW Bank Index rising 0.5% to close at 61.43. The KBW index is up 20% this year, after rising 30% during 2012.

Investors are looking ahead to Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke's testimony before the joint congressional Economic Committee on May 22, ahead of the release of the minutes of the most recent meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, on April 30 and May 1. Investors continue to wonder, as they must, when the central bank will slow the expansion of its balance sheet from monthly purchases of $85 billion in long-term securities, in an effort to hold down long-term interest rates. ...

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Big Banks: Friday Financial Winners

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:26:19 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The nation's largest banks again led the way on Friday, as the broad indices pushed to record highs.

Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1% to end at a new closing high of 15,354.40, while the S&P 500 was also up 1%%, ending the session at a record closing high of 1,666.12.

The KBW Bank Index was up 2% to close at 61.13, with all 24 index components showing gains. ...

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Regions Financial: Bank Stock Loser

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:31:31 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Regions Financial was the loser among the largest financial names on Thursday, with shares sliding more than 2% to close at $8.95.

The broad indices ended lower and the KBW Bank Index was down 1% to close at 60.16, following a mostly disappointing batch of economic reports:

The Department of Labor reported that initial unemployment claims for the week ended May 11 increased by 32,000 to 360,000, while the four-week moving average for jobless claims increased by 1,250 to 339,250, from the previous week's revised figure of 338,000. ...

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Citigroup: Financial Winner

Wed, 15 May 2013 16:41:47 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Citigroup was the winner among the largest financial names on Wednesday, with shares rising 2.5% to close at $51.34.

Bank stocks led the market again, as the KBW Bank Index rose over 1% to close at 60.51, with all but one of the 24 index components ending the session with gains

The Dow Jones Industrial Average S&P 500 each pushed further into record territory, after stronger-than-expected housing numbers offset a disappointing report on manufacturing activity. ...

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Bank Stocks Lead Bulls: Financial Winners

Tue, 14 May 2013 17:17:06 EDT

Updated from 4:22 p.m. ET with comments from Guggenheim analyst Marty Mosby.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Bank of New York Mellon was the winner among the largest financial names on Tuesday, with shares rising 4% to close at $32.26.

The broad indices all ended with 1% gains, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 pass intraday record highs. Financial stocks led the way, with the KBW Bank Index rising 2% to close at 59.85, with all 24 index components ending the session with gains. ...

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Trust and Custody Banks: Financial Winners

Mon, 13 May 2013 16:41:02 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Trust and custody banks were the winners among the nation's largest financial names on Monday.

Shares of State Street of Boston were up over 2% to close at $61.67, while Bank of New York Mellon was up nearly 2% to close at $28.82 and Northern Trust of Chicago was up over 1% to close at $55.11.

The broad indices ended mixed, after the Census Bureau reported Monday that retail sales rose 0.1% in April after falling by a revised 0.5% in March. The consensus estimate among economists polled by Thomson Reuters was for retail sales to fall 0.3% in April. ...

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Morgan Stanley: Financial Winner

Fri, 10 May 2013 16:21:00 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Morgan Stanley was the winner among the largest U.S. financial names on Friday, with shares rising over 2% to close at $23.94.

The broad market rally continued, with slight increases for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 Index , while the NASDAQ Composite rose 1%.

The KBW Bank Index was up slightly to close at 58.53, with all but five of the 24 index components ended Friday's session with gains. ...

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Uncle Sam: Fannie Mae Financial Winner

Thu, 09 May 2013 16:37:54 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The U.S. government was the big financial winner on Thursday, after Fannie Mae announced its first-quarter results would enable it to pay the U.S. Treasury a dividend of $59.4 billion.

Mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- together known as the government sponsored enterprises, or GSEs -- were taken under government conservatorship in September 2008 at the height of the credit crisis. Both GSEs were bailed out. The federal government holds $117.1 billion in senior Fannie Mae preferred shares, and $72.3 billion in senior Freddie Mac preferred shares.

Because Fannie and Freddie have been profitable for several quarters, both GSEs have stopped taking additional draws from the Treasury, effectively freezing the bailouts at the current levels. Under their amended agreement with their regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Treasury, Fannie and Freddie are required to pay dividends to the government equal to all capital in excess of $3 billion apiece. ...

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Wells Fargo Will Build on Credit Card Success: Citi

Thu, 09 May 2013 11:06:14 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Wells Fargo has been the most successful among major U.S. lenders in growing its credit card business over the past year, and the bank is poised for a more aggressive growth push later this year, according to Citigroup analyst Donald Fandetti.

Following a recent meeting with Visa CFO Byron Pollitt, Fandetti in a note to clients said the payment processor's management was "particularly constructive on affluent credit spend and reiterated that this segment has driven virtually all of their US credit growth over the past two years."

Fandetti added that the Visa team believes "equities and housing drive affluent spend, with equities being the more important of the two." ...

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Citigroup: Financial Winner

Wed, 08 May 2013 16:39:53 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Citigroup was the winner among the largest U.S. banks on Wednesday, with shares rising 2% to close at $49.14.

The broad stock indices continued their upward climb with gains of less than 0.50%, while the KBW Bank Index was up nearly 1% to close at 58.76, with all but five of the 24 index components ending the session with gains.

In a market strategy note to clients on Wednesday, BMO Capital Markets chief investment strategist Brian Belski wrote that "investors appear to be getting a bit more selective by focusing on areas with discernible fundamentals as the market continues to climb higher despite recent sluggish economic data." Belski added that "longer-term trends continue to favor valuation factors," which include price-to-earnings and price-to-book-value ratios. ...

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JPMorgan Chase: Financial Winner

Tue, 07 May 2013 16:22:53 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- JPMorgan Chase was the winner among large U.S. banks on Tuesday, with shares rising 2% to close at $49.14.

The broad stock indices all ended higher, and the KBW Bank Index was up 1% to close at 58.28, with all 24 index components ending the session with gains.

The Federal Reserve Tuesday afternoon announced that U.S. consumer credit expanded at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.4% during March, slowing from growth rates of 8.0% in February and 5.5% in January. The consumer credit growth rate for the first quarter was 5.7%, declining from 6.5% in the fourth quarter, but increasing from 5.4% in the first quarter of 2012. Also see: Home Prices Surge in Cities With Strong Job Growth >> JPMorgan Chase ...

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Bank of America: Mortgage Overhang Removal Winner

Mon, 06 May 2013 16:21:28 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Bank of America was the winner among the largest U.S. banks on Monday, with shares rising over 5% to close at $12.88.

There were several reports last week of major investors dropping their objections to the bank's $8.5 billion proposed settlement in June 2011 of mortgage repurchase claims related to loans originally securitized by Countrywide Financial. Bank of America acquired Countrywide in 2008. The settlement was negotiated by Bank of New York Mellon as trustee, but was objected to by the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, American International Group, the attorneys general of New York and Delaware and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which regulates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Also see: Underwater Mortgages Drop to 9 Million as Home Prices Rise >>

JPMorgan analyst Vivek Juneja said in a note to clients late on Friday that "this removes several objectors to the settlement - few others remain, most notably AIG." Juneja noted that "the hedge fund that started the objection process, Walnut Creek (Baupost), already withdrew its objection to the deal." He added that "there has been significant overhang on Bank of America's stock because of fears about this settlement being overturned and this should reduce some of those concerns." ...

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AIG: Benmosche Transformation Winner

Fri, 03 May 2013 16:17:01 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- American International Group was the financial stock winner on Friday, with shares rising 6% to close at $44.52.

Investors cheered strong first-quarter results that AIG reported after Thursday's market close, which included a return to profitability for the company's property and casualty insurance unit.

Investors were looking for solid operating improvement in the first quarter, after AIG CEO Robert Benmosche successfully led the company out of its epic U.S. government bailout during the fourth quarter. The U.S. Treasury said in December after selling its remaining stake in AIG shares that U.S. taxpayers ended up with a $22 billion profit from the AIG bailout. ...

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Morgan Stanley: Financial Winner

Thu, 02 May 2013 16:14:46 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Morgan Stanley was the winner among the nation's largest banks on Thursday, with shares rising 2% to close at $22.29.

The European Central Bank on Wednesday announced it would cut its main rate for Eurosystem refinancing operations by 25 basis points to 0.50%. Mario Draghi, the president of the European Central Bank, at a press briefing said "our monetary policy stance will remain accommodative for as long as is needed."

Anything that stimulates economic activity in Europe is good news for Morgan Stanley. The investment bank reported that as of March 31, its net risk exposure to "European peripherals," including Greece, Ireland, Italy, Spain and Portugal totaled $5.0 billion. The largest exposure among the peripherals was $2.7 billion in Italy, mainly to non-sovereign entities, followed by $1.7 billion in Spain, nearly all of which was to non-sovereign entities. ...

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Bank Stocks Losers on Disappointing Jobs Indicator (Update 1)

Wed, 01 May 2013 16:26:25 EDT

Updated from 1:57 p.m. ET with market close information and comment from House Financial Services Committee chairman Jeb Hensarling (R., Texas).

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Several of the nation's largest banks saw their shares slide on Wednesday, following a disappointing employment report for April.

Shares of Goldman Sachs were down over 2% to close at $$142.61, while JPMorgan Chase was down 2% to close at $48.01. Citigroup was down nearly 2% to close at $45.87. ...

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