Detusche Bank's Mayo Slightly More Positive on Bank Stocks (C, WB, BAC, WFC, More...)

July 22, 2008 3:40 PM EDT

Detusche Bank analyst Mike Mayo is telling clients to reduce the degree of their underweighting on the banking group.

Mayo cited: 1. most big banks reported 2Q08 with no new capital issuances, 2. margins improved more than expected, helped by a steeper yield curve. 3. problems, beyond real estate, have not spread as much as feared.

However, Mayo said issues remains, including: 1. the degree to which the slowdown exposes increased structural risk, 2. possible additional moves by regulators (possible higher deposit insurance) and rating agencies, 3. macro factors (unemployment/inflation/housing/oil) and 4. continued market nervousness. Mayo said the bank group does not typically perform well until problem loans peak, which he said may not happen until mid-2009.

Mayo recently upgraded Citigroup (NYSE: C) from Sell to Hold and reiterated his Buy rating on Wachovia (NYSE: WB) today.

Other bank and financial stocks:

Comerica Incorporated (NYSE: CMA), Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER), Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), PNC Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE: PNC), BB&T (NYSE: BBT), Northern Trust Corp. (Nasdaq: NTRS), US Bancorp (NYSE: USB), State Street Corp. (NYSE: STT), National City Corporation (NYSE: NCC), SunTrust Banks Inc. (NYSE: STI), Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC), Fifth Third Bancorp (Nasdaq: FITB), Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LEH), Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS), KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY), JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM).

Related Categories

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Stocks Mentioned

Related Entities

• JPMorgan
• Goldman Sachs
• Citi
• Morgan Stanley
• Merrill Lynch
• Lehman Brothers
• Wachovia
• Banc of America
• BB&T Capital Markets
• Mike Mayo

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