Regional Banks Refusing TARP Funds (BXS, CFR, FCF, HCBK, PRSP, WFD)

247wallst — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 08:47:00 +0000

Bailouts, handouts, subsidies, and free money be damned. In times when most large financial institutions are lining up for their share of TARP funds, there are many regional banks out there which have decided to refuse the government’s bailout TARP funds. These banks say the are solid, and many of their share prices have held up much better than many of the troubled banks which are taking TARP monies. Some of these regional banks are BancorpSouth, Inc. (NYSE: BXS), Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE: CFR), First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE: FCF), Hudson City Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: HCBK), Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (Nasdaq: PRSP), and Westfield Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ: WFD). These are the more actively traded stocks and what gets interesting is the explanation for refusing to accept TARP funds and the ratios of some of these banking institutions.

On November 14, BancorpSouth, Inc. (NYSE: BXS) announced that it wouldnot apply for TARP funds as it is a well-capitalized and strongperforming institution with high quality assets. The company said itsbalance sheet was highlighted by total risk-based capital of 11.82% atSeptember 30, 2008, far above minimum regulatory standards.BancorpSouth, Inc., is a financial holding company headquartered inTupelo, Mississippi, with approximately $13.3 billion in assets whichoperates approximately 300 commercial banking, mortgage, insurance,trust and broker/dealer locations in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida,Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas.

At the end of October, Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE: CFR) in Texasannounced it will not apply for funds available through the TARP ansthat it will not seek federal CPP funds. The bank said at the timethat it is well capitalized "now and for the foreseeable future withsufficient capital to grow our business and take advantage ofacquisition opportunities."

On November 14, First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE: FCF)announced that it would not apply for TARP funds since it recentlyraised over $100 million through a public offering of common stock.First Commonwealth Financial Corporation is a $6.2 billion bank holdingcompany headquartered in Indiana, Pennsylvania with 113 retail branchoffices.

On November 17, Hudson City Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: HCBK) announced thatit did not participate in the TARP as it has not been seriouslyaffected by conditions in the marketplace. The company said that whileit is not immune from economic conditions, its average loan-to-valueratio of 61% at time of origination has protected the bank fromsignificant levels of loan losses. It has also accepted more mortgageapplications during the first nine months of 2008 than it did in all of2007 and it originated $4.01 billion of mortgage loans. It alsopurchased $2.55 billion of loans through September 30, 2008 as comparedto $3.06 billion for the same period in 2007. It grew deposits by $2.14billion during the first nine months of 2008 and it had an equity toassets ratio of 9.2% and a total risk based capital ratio of 21.9% atSeptember 30, 2008.

On November 17, Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (Nasdaq: PRSP) announcedits decision not to apply for TARP funds. Prosperity said it wasconsidered well capitalized under regulatory guidelines and should beable to continue building its business and take advantage ofopportunities. Prosperity Bancshares is a $10.5 billion Houston, Texasbased regional financial holding company with approximately 170branches throughout Texas.

On November 17, Westfield Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ: WFD) announced thatit decided not to seek TARP funds as its ratio of Tier 1 capital torisk weighted assets was 44.04% and the ratio of Tier 1 capital tototal adjusted assets was 25.65%. Both of these ratios are above theminimums of 6.00% and 5.00%, respectively, to be considered wellcapitalized under prompt corrective action requirements. WestfieldBank is headquartered in Westfield, Massachusetts and operates through11 banking offices.

Jon C. Ogg
November 28, 2008

Posted in Banking, Financial Stocks, Regulation Tagged: BXS, CFR, FCF, HCBK, PRSP, WFD

While You Were On Holiday…Here’s What You Missed

247wallst — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 06:53:53 +0000

Last week was a light volume trading week, but the markets were open and they didn’t wait for the holiday crowd to come back. Here is a snippet of some of the major moves of the last week:

Could Boston Scientific(NYSE:BSX) and J&J (NYSE:JNJ) get back on the coated stent favor?
Media Digest from September 3….
August 30: Upgrades and Downgrades.
August 29: Moody’s actually defended Wall Street bulge bracket firms over leveraged debt exposure.
August 28: Full Upgrades and Downgrades.
Full Pre-Market Notes
August 27: Full Upgrades & Downgrades.
Full Pre-Market Notes
If Seagate Won’t Sell, Why Not Buy Western Digital? (STX, WDC, KOMG)
Crocs ((NASDAQ:CROX) Intro’s New Clothing Line.…and stock hit new highs.
Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) Makes It Thru Earnings……How Much Stock Will It Buy Back Once It Resumes Buying Stock?
American Water Works (NYSE:AWK)…. Back as a US IPO.
El Paso (NYSE:EP) files for an IPO for one of its MLP’s.
Ariad (NASDAQ:ARIA) gets a Business Week bump.
Bush decides mortgages may get a bailout, although even after a rally not much was determined.
Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) may hit into social networking more. They need to, because Yahoo! Finance is showing some real drop off in its numbers.
52 WEEK LOWS: August 30….. August 29….. August 28…..
August 27…..
NASDAQ Short Interest came out (AUGUST 2007)

Jon C. Ogg
September 4, 2007

24/7 Wall St. » BXS

Regional Banks Refusing TARP Funds (BXS, CFR, FCF, HCBK, PRSP, WFD)

While You Were On Holiday…Here’s What You Missed