Ally Financial (ALLY 0.88%) is joining an increasingly long line of companies pulling their guidance in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. In a regulatory filing, the bank said it is withdrawing its full-year projections for this fiscal year.
Before the guidance was pulled, Ally had forecast that its per-share earnings would rise by 10% to 15% from the 2019 figure of $3.72. On the top line, adjusted total net revenue was expected to climb by 6% to 9% above the year-ago result of $6.3 billion. Efficiency gains were also predicted, as the bank was anticipating a reduction of 50 to 150 basis points in the 47.4% efficiency ratio of 2019.
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"We are unable to estimate the impact of COVID-19 on our business and operations at this time," the bank wrote in the filing.
"The pandemic could cause us to experience higher credit losses in our lending portfolio, impairment of our goodwill and other financial assets, further reduced demand for our products and services, and other negative impacts on our financial position, results of operations, and prospects," Ally added.
The bank's growth momentum might very well shift violently into reverse. It posted encouraging improvements in fiscal 2019, with revenue, net income, deposits, and loan originations (particularly with mortgages) all rising at healthy rates.
On Tuesday, Ally's shares bucked the slightly bearish trend of the wider market to close almost 4% higher on the day.
