Following the lead of their much larger compatriots JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo, and 35 regional banks from last week, 54 regional banks released second-quarter earnings this week. It was good news for 30 banks, decent news for nine banks, and 15 banks can be viewed as disappointments depending on how you look at them. This article will touch briefly on some of the more noteworthy earnings releases from the past week.
One-time credit equals big earnings beat
Among the bigger surprises of the week was the performance of Missouri-based bank Great Southern Bancorp
Regional bank favorites continue to impress
Regional banking favorites Synovus Financial
Regions Financial, on the other hand, looks to be a good value among other banks, and the Alabama bank saw an increase of 51% in net income from the first quarter this year and a ten-fold increase from the second quarter last year. Unlike Synovus, Regions also finished repaying the Treasury for its TARP investment, which affected its quarterly net income by $71 million, or $0.05 per share. Nevertheless, Regions still exceeded the consensus earnings estimate of $0.15 per share, reporting earnings of $0.20 per share.
One who failed to meet expectations
The biggest miss of the week belonged to United Community Banks
Opportunities in regional banks
I like the potential of regional banks personally, but they may not be for everyone. Earnings are just one thing to consider when choosing an investment, so view these results as a small piece to a much larger puzzle. In fact, a bank similar to the ones here is featured prominently in our brand new free report, "The Stocks Only the Smartest Investors are Buying." To find out which one it is, get your copy today, before it's too late.