Sector Snap: Regional Banks mostly fall

NEW YORK - Shares of regional banks mostly fell Monday afternoon amid continued concerns about the financial services sector and as an analyst cut his price target for BB&T Corp.

BB&T shares fell the furthest among large regional banks as a Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co. analyst reiterated his "Underperform" rating and cut his price target to $25 from $27, noting that short-term prospects for the bank remain weak because of further expected deterioration in its commercial real estate and commercial and industrial lending portfolios and continued macroeconomic problems such as rising unemployment.

Analyst Scott Valentin wrote in a research note that the Southeast regional bank does have strong long-term potential as it has relatively strong reserves and relatively less exposure to housing difficulties than some competitors.

BB&T shares fell 67 cents, or 2.4 percent, to $27.38 in early afternoon trading.

Other regional banks' shares were falling Monday as the financial services sector continued to decline. National bank Citigroup Inc. said earlier in the day it plans to cut an additional 53,000 jobs beyond 22,000 it had already planned to slash. The cuts are further indication that the financial services market is not close to recovering from the ongoing credit and mortgage problems that have plagued the industry since last year.

The KBW Bank Index, which includes 24 national and regional banks, fell 1.6 percent in early afternoon trading to 47.62.

Among regional banks, shares of PNC Financial Services Group Inc. fell $1.75, or 2.8 percent, to $60.59.

Shares of Regions Financial Corp. fell 42 cents, or 4.3 percent, to $9.25.

Among the groups few gainers, shares of Comerica Inc. rose 14 cents to $22.09. Shares of KeyCorp gained 12 cents to $9.72.

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