Latest news with #RegionalBanks
Japan Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Japan Times
FSA eager to back regional bank realignment
Financial Services Agency Commissioner Yutaka Ito has expressed eagerness to support the realignment of regional banks to enhance financial services in Japan. "We will do our best to support consolidations and mergers if they contribute to the provision of high-quality regional financial services," Ito said in a recent interview. Ito, who took office in July, stressed that cooperation with nonfinancial businesses is also crucial for the management of regional lenders. "In order to make the management foundation sustainable, options such as reorganization, standardization of operations and collaboration with nonfinancial businesses should be considered," he said. Although financial institutions' profits are improving thanks to interest rate hikes by the Bank of Japan, the environment surrounding such institutions "will change rapidly from now on," Ito said, claiming that they "need to make management decisions now." The FSA plans to draw up a program to strengthen regional financial capabilities by the end of this year, which will include the extension and expansion of the public fund injection system. Ito showed eagerness to establish a backup system to maintain financial functions in the event of natural disasters. He also expressed his intention to improve the subsidy system that can be used on the occasions of mergers and business integrations. Meanwhile, malicious fraudulent loans have been discovered at regional credit cooperative Iwaki Shinkumi Bank in Fukushima Prefecture where public funds were injected after the March 2011 major earthquake and tsunami. "We need to ensure appropriate business operations," Ito said. "At the minimum, we have to conduct business management and prevent fraudulent practices at institutions in which we have equity participation." In recent years, there have been a series of scandals in the financial industry, such as illicit automobile insurance claims and safe deposit box thefts. "If we take superficial measures, problems will arise again," Ito said, calling for reforms after finding out the root causes.
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
3 Cheap Bank Stocks for Your Short List
(0:30) - Is Now The Time For Value Investors To Add Banks To Their Portfolios? (7:00) - Finding Strong Stock Picks To Keep On Your Watch List Right Now (29:45) - Episode Roundup: JPM, C, PNC, KEY, OZK, BUSE, WSBC Podcast@ 3 Key Takeaways Investors have hated bank stocks since the financial crisis 17 years ago. Regional banks are dirt cheap. OZK, BUSE and WSBC have P/B ratios under 1.3. Get income. These 3 banks pay dividends yielding between 3% and 5%. Investors have hated bank stocks since the financial crisis 17 years ago. Regional banks are dirt cheap. OZK, BUSE and WSBC have P/B ratios under 1.3. Get income. These 3 banks pay dividends yielding between 3% and 5%. Description: Welcome to Episode #411 of the Value Investor Podcast. Every week, Tracey Ryniec, the editor of Zacks Value Investor portfolio, shares some of her top value investing tips and stock picks. Are the value bank stocks back in vogue? For 17 years, since the Great Recession began in 2008, the bank stocks have been blacklisted for investors. Every time it seemed like the worst was over, an event like the 2023 Bank Crisis occured to say otherwise. Yet, in 2025, the banks are cheap, with strong balance sheets and attractive dividend yields. But is this just another fake out? The large banks, like JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, have already staged big rallies. JPMorgan Chase has been breaking out to new all-time highs. But the truly cheap stocks aren't among the large cap banks. JPMorgan Chase now trades with a P/B ratio over 2.0, which means its fully valued. The smaller regional banks, however, are still hated, and are even cheaper. Tracey shares three of her favorite regional banks as the second quarter earnings reports are about to roll out. 1. WesBanco, Inc. (WSBC) WesBanco is a 150-year-old Wheeling, West Virginia regional bank. It recently acquired Premier Financial to expand its business in the Mid-Atlantic and Ohio Valley. WesBanco has a market cap of $3.2 billion. Shares of WesBanco are up just 1.9% year-to-date but have gained 12.1% over the last year. It's cheap on a price-to-book (P/E) level. Bank analysts say to buy banks with a P/B ratio of 1.0 and sell at 2.0. WesBanco's P/B ratio is currently 0.88. It's dirt cheap. Earnings are expected to jump 32.5% this year. WesBanco also pays an attractive dividend, yielding 4.4%. Should WesBanco be on value investors' short lists? 2. Bank OZK (OZK) Bank OZK is headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas and is known as a real estate bank due to its big real estate development loan portfolio. Bank OZK has a market cap of $5.9 billion and offices in 9 states. Shares of Bank OZK are up 16.5% year-to-date. Yet it's still cheap. Bank OZK trades with a P/B ratio of just 1.07. Bank OZK also pays a dividend, currently yielding 3.3%. Should a real estate bank, like Bank OZK, be on your short list? 3. First Busey Corp. (BUSE) First Busey Corp. is the holding company for First Busey Bank, headquartered in Champaign Illinois. However, the company recently acquired CrossFirst out of Leawood, Kansas, to create a bank with 77 locations across 10 states. First Busey Corp. will be headquartered in Leawood. It has a market cap of $2.2 billion. Shares of First Busey are up 2.2% year-to-date but are still in the red for the last year, down 5.1%. But it's dirt cheap. First Busey trades with a P/B ratio of just 0.6. Earnings are expected to jump 19.7% in 2025. First Busey also has an attractive dividend of 4.1%. Insiders think there's value. They have been buying shares of First Busey in the last few months. Is this a buying opportunity in First Busey? What Else Should You Know About Cheap Bank Stocks? Tune into this week's podcast to find out. [In full disclosure, Tracey owns WSBC in the Value Investor and her own personal portfolio. Zacks Insider Trader also owns BUSE.] Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report WesBanco, Inc. (WSBC) : Free Stock Analysis Report First Busey Corporation (BUSE) : Free Stock Analysis Report Bank OZK (OZK) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Should You Invest in the iShares U.S. Regional Banks ETF (IAT)?
Designed to provide broad exposure to the Financials - Regional Banks segment of the equity market, the iShares U.S. Regional Banks ETF (IAT) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 05/01/2006. An increasingly popular option among retail and institutional investors, passively managed ETFs offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; they are also excellent vehicles for long term investors. Investor-friendly, sector ETFs provide many options to gain low risk and diversified exposure to a broad group of companies in particular sectors. Financials - Regional Banks is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 8, placing it in top 50%. The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $617.26 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Financials - Regional Banks segment of the equity market. IAT seeks to match the performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Select Regional Banks Index before fees and expenses. The Dow Jones U.S. Select Regional Banks Index is a free-float adjusted market capitalization-weighted index which measures the performance of the regional bank sub-sector of the U.S. equity market. Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.40%, making it on par with most peer products in the space. It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 3.09%. ETFs offer a diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis. This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Financials sector--about 100% of the portfolio. Looking at individual holdings, Pnc Financial Services Group Inc (PNC) accounts for about 13.47% of total assets, followed by Us Bancorp (USB) and Truist Financial Corp (TFC). The top 10 holdings account for about 67.37% of total assets under management. The ETF has lost about -6.61% and it's up approximately 17.22% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 06/02/2025), respectively. IAT has traded between $39.17 and $56.90 during this last 52-week period. The ETF has a beta of 0.91 and standard deviation of 30.90% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 38 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers. IShares U.S. Regional Banks ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, IAT is a great option for investors seeking exposure to the Financials ETFs segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well. Invesco KBW Regional Banking ETF (KBWR) tracks KBW Nasdaq Regional Banking Index and the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE) tracks S&P Regional Banks Select Industry Index. Invesco KBW Regional Banking ETF has $48.15 million in assets, SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF has $3.28 billion. KBWR has an expense ratio of 0.35% and KRE charges 0.35%. To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report iShares U.S. Regional Banks ETF (IAT): ETF Research Reports The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc (PNC) : Free Stock Analysis Report U.S. Bancorp (USB) : Free Stock Analysis Report SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE): ETF Research Reports Invesco KBW Regional Banking ETF (KBWR): ETF Research Reports Truist Financial Corporation (TFC) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Should You Invest in the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE)?
The SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE) was launched on 06/19/2006, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Financials - Regional Banks segment of the equity market. While an excellent vehicle for long term investors, passively managed ETFs are a popular choice among institutional and retail investors due to their low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency. Sector ETFs are also funds of convenience, offering many ways to gain low risk and diversified exposure to a broad group of companies in particular sectors. Financials - Regional Banks is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 8, placing it in top 50%. The fund is sponsored by State Street Global Advisors. It has amassed assets over $3.28 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Financials - Regional Banks segment of the equity market. KRE seeks to match the performance of the S&P Regional Banks Select Industry Index before fees and expenses. The S&P Regional Banks Select Industry Index represents the regional banks segment of the S&P Total Market Index. When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts in the long term if all other factors remain equal. Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.35%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space. It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.75%. While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis. This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Financials sector--about 100% of the portfolio. Looking at individual holdings, Huntington Bancshares Inc (HBAN) accounts for about 3% of total assets, followed by East West Bancorp Inc (EWBC) and M + T Bank Corp (MTB). The top 10 holdings account for about 28.14% of total assets under management. The ETF has lost about -5.12% so far this year and it's up approximately 21.33% in the last one year (as of 06/02/2025). In that past 52-week period, it has traded between $46.12 and $68.90. The ETF has a beta of 0.87 and standard deviation of 31.90% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 142 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk. SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, KRE is a great option for investors seeking exposure to the Financials ETFs segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well. Invesco KBW Regional Banking ETF (KBWR) tracks KBW Nasdaq Regional Banking Index and the iShares U.S. Regional Banks ETF (IAT) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Select Regional Banks Index. Invesco KBW Regional Banking ETF has $48.15 million in assets, iShares U.S. Regional Banks ETF has $617.26 million. KBWR has an expense ratio of 0.35% and IAT charges 0.40%. To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE): ETF Research Reports M&T Bank Corporation (MTB) : Free Stock Analysis Report Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (HBAN) : Free Stock Analysis Report East West Bancorp, Inc. (EWBC) : Free Stock Analysis Report iShares U.S. Regional Banks ETF (IAT): ETF Research Reports Invesco KBW Regional Banking ETF (KBWR): ETF Research Reports This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
