Big Moves For Bank Stocks

by Ryan Cole, Investment U Research Team

I’m sure by now, you’ve heard that September is the worst month for stocks.

October gets the press, with its biggest, single-day calamities, but September still stands as the clear Biggest Loser. And mark my words: That matters.

Simply put, this September is shaping up like a bloodbath:

Sentiment has been extremely bullish in the lead-up, even in the face of bad stats. Yet when good stats come out, the markets remain flat. We’ve already seen a few sharp down days. Insider selling stayed extremely high in this month’s run-up. And the savviest contrarian investors have warned us about overbought conditions for a couple months now.

If 2 + 2 = 4, Then The FDIC Is Broke

But that’s not the worst of it. This is… 416. That’s the number of “bad” banks – banks on the FDIC’s “troubled

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Regulators shut down 3 more banks including Corus; total failed banks in '09 reach 92   Three more banks including Corus Bank NA, a subsidiary of Corus Bankshares (CORS), were shuttered by the U.S. regulators on Friday as the recession continues to take its toll on banks. This takes the total number of failed federally insured banks in this year to 92, compared to 25 in 2008 and 3 in 2007. Based in Chicago, the Corus Bank was a major lender to condominium, office and hotel projects. Corus is one of the largest banks to fail this year, with about $7 billion in total assets, $7 billion in deposits and 11 branches. Two other small banks were Lacey, WA-based Venture Bank, with $970 million in assets and $903 million in deposits and Woodbury, MN-based Brickwell Community Bank, with $72 million in assets and $63 million in ...

Based on a ranking analysis released on Wednesday by Virginia-based research firm SNL Financial, Bank of America Corporation (BAC) still remains the highest ranked banking institution in U.S. by second-quarter total assets. The analysis was based on the filings of Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). According to the filing, as of June 30, 2009, Bank of America has total assets of $2.3 trillion and total deposits of $971 billion.   Earlier this week, Bank of America offered to repay a part of the $45 billion it had received from the U.S. government in relation to its participation in the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Also, the repayment offer was aimed to end a loss-sharing deal with the government related to its acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co. The completion of the payments would enable Bank of America to reduce part of government involvement in its affairs....

Three more U.S. banks failed; tally reaches 84 this year Bank failures continue unabated as U.S. regulators on Friday closed down three more banks in California, Maryland and Minnesota. This takes the total number of failed federally insured banks this year to 84, compared to 25 in 2008 and 3 in 2007. The failed banks were Ventura, California-based Affinity Bank, with about $1 billion in assets and $922 million in deposits; Baltimore-based Bradford Bank, with $452 million in assets and $383 million in deposits; and Forest Lake, Minnesota-based Mainstreet Bank, with $459 million in assets and $434 million in deposits. Failure of these banks represents another sizable impact on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC) fund for protecting customer accounts, as it has been appointed receiver for these banks. The failure of Affinity Bank is expected to cost the deposit insurance fund an estimated $254 million; ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – August 28, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBV), BB&T Corp. (BBT), Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) and AMR Corp. (AMR).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Thursday’s Analyst Blog:

Thrifts Defy Troubles

Thrifts are required to have at least 65% of their loans as mortgages and other consumer loans, which makes them particularly vulnerable to the housing downturn. But banks have no such compulsion. However, the banking industry is likely to face further special

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Following the announcement of the acquisition of the failed Guaranty Bank by BBVA Compass, Moody’s has affirmed its current downgraded ratings on the company. BBVA Compass is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBV). Though the rating agency reaffirmed its negative outlook, it said that the acquisition of $12 billion in Guaranty Bank assets will significantly strengthen the bank’s presence in Texas, which housed 105 Guaranty bank branches. The acquisition would take the bank deeper into Texas and California, accelerating the company’s strategy to become a regional U.S. bank. BBVA Compass will receive an additional investment of $440 million from its parent in the form of common stock as a result of the transaction. Currently, the company’s long-term issuer credit rating is Aa3, and its financial strength rating is B-. The overall outlook on the company is negative. The negative outlook mirrors ...

On Wednesday, regulators said that the US thrift industry had earned its first profit since the third quarter of 2007, but the number of troubled institutions continued to rise. Profit for the period ended June 30, 2009 was $4 million, compared to a loss of $1.62 billion sequentially and $5.4 billion in the prior-year quarter. The small profit for the quarter mainly came from higher net interest margins, lower provisions for loan losses and better fees.

Although results for the quarter showed some improvement, overall performance of the industry remained uneven. Troubled assets at thrifts accounted for 3.52% of the industry's assets, up from 3.35% in the previous quarter. However, total value of troubled assets fell to $38.6 billion from $41 billion in the earlier quarter.

"Problem thrifts" on the agency's list are those which have significantly low capital reserves and other deficiencies. Their number rose to 40 from

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – August 25, 2009 – Zacks Equity Research highlights Transcept Pharmaceuticals (TSPT) as the Bull of the Day and Nabors Industries (NBR) the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Guaranty Financial Group Inc. (GFG), Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) and BB&T Corporation (BBT).

Full analysis of all these stocks is available at http://at.zacks.com/?id=2676

Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:

Bull of the Day:

We recently initiated coverage of Transcept Pharmaceuticals (TSPT) with an Outperform rating and $12 price target. We think Intermezzo is a product that can fill a much needed void for insomnia patients with chronic nocturnal awakenings.

An FDA decision on the pending new drug application is expected in late October 2009. We think approval is a high likelihood event at that time.

With the commercialization

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BBV, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A.

PWRM, Power 3 Medical Products Inc, PWRM.OB

DrStockPick Watch List!

 

DrStockPick Watch List! for Monday August 24, 2009

 

My Picks for Monday August 24, 2009 are:

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BBV, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A.

BBV is a financial services group with more than $750 billion in total assets, 48 million clients, 8,000 branches and approximately 108,000 employees in more than 30 countries.

BBV ranks among the top seven largest financial institutions in the world based on market capitalization and 13th in Global Finance magazine’s list of the “World’s 50 Safest Banks” for 2009.

BBV provides its customers around the world with a full

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