U.S. banks "beaten, not broken" - Raymond James

Origin Bancorp

29/08/2019 13:06

** Brokerage Raymond James downgrades 6 banks, including
second largest U.S. lender by assets, Bank of America  BAC.N ,
and upgrades five banks 
    ** Brokerage believes the banking sector "as beaten, not
broken, barring a nearer-term recession" 
    ** "While the debate will certainly continue to rage around
how many Fed rate cuts we get from here and how low yields will
ultimately go, at a minimum, it stands as a significant earnings
headwind for the majority of banks and the industry," - Raymond
James analyst David Long says
    ** Raymond James cuts rating on Bank of America  BAC.N  to
"market perform" from "outperform", sees waning prospects for
BAC to generate positive operating leverage next year 
    ** BAC's asset sensitivity, which is more than its peers,
could pose a greater challenge to net interest income given
further flattening of the yield curve and the potential for
several additional rate cuts from here - Raymond James
    ** Also cuts Cadence Bancorp  CADE.N , Origin Bancorp
 OBNK.O  and Wintrust Financial Corp  WTFC.O  to "outperform"
from "strong buy" 
    ** Downgrades Business First Bancshares  BFST.O  and Texas
Capital Bancshares  TCBI.O  to "market perform" from
"outperform" 
    ** Meanwhile, brokerage raises rating on Carolina Financial
Corp  CARO.O  and OceanFirst Financial Corp  OCFC.O  to "strong
buy" from "outperform"
    ** Also upgrades First Horizon National Corp  FHN.N  and
Hilltop Holdings Inc  HTH.N  to "outperform" from "market
perform", and East West Bancorp Inc  EWBC.O  to "market perform"
from "underperform" 


    
     

 (Reporting by Tanvi Mehta in Bengaluru)
 ((tanvi.mehta@thomsonreuters.com; +91 80 67494756 ; Reuters
Messaging: tanvi.mehta.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))