banking

The Federal Reserve's final meeting of 2016 kicks off Tuesday, and many market observers believe an interest rate hike of at least 25 basis points is a sure thing. With that in mind, investors are heading to some predictable destinations in the exchange-traded funds landscape. Trend Plays Out...

Broadly speaking, political donors on Wall Street backed Democrat Hillary Clinton in this year's presidential election. Judging by the reaction to Republican Donald Trump's stunning upset, financial services stocks and the corresponding exchange-traded funds are comfortable with the idea of...

The surprise election of Donald Trump may have been a game-changer for bank stocks. Morgan Stanley analyst Betsy Grasek has issued a wave of rating and price target changes for bank stocks. Even following significant post-election run-ups, Morgan Stanley has upgraded Citigroup Inc (NYSE: C) to...

Investors are awaiting with bated breath the results from the last of the Mohicans among investment banks. Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is due to release its third quarter results before the markets open on Wednesday. Analysts, on average, expect earnings of $0.63 per share, up from $0.34 per share...

There is often a fine line between legitimate value and value traps. Where the laggard financial services sector and its corresponding exchange-traded funds fall this year is up for debate, but there is no debating that the S&P 500's second-largest sector weight is a dud to this point in...

Baird has downgraded Stellus Capital Investment Corp (NYSE: SCM) and New Mountain Finance Corp. (NYSE: NMFC) to Neutral from Outperform on valuation. The brokerage said BDC (business development company) valuations have rebounded meaningfully from earlier in the year. "Up from ~77 percent at the...

Barclays said Synchrony Financial (NYSE: SYF) remains its most attractive credit card stock following its recently announced capital plans. Last week, the company answered investors' biggest question when it announced its first dividend and buyback program ($0.13/share and $952 million,...

It’s a big week for big banks as they continue striving to deliver earnings in what is likely the harshest banking environment in history. Yet, Berenberg sees the potential for significant upside for selective bank investors ahead of Q2 earnings. U.S. banks face unprecedented regulation and...

Postal Savings Bank of China (PSBC) aims to transform itself from a brick-and-mortar lender into a digital player, as part of its plans for a $10 billion IPO. Reuters, citing both the state-owned bank's IPO prospectus and people familiar with its plans, said, "PSBC plans to work with online...

BMO predicts an improvement in the system-wide fundamental credit quality over the next year-and-a-half and suggests "Value versus Growth" analysis remains the best way to generate investment ideas. BMO's call comes as the system-wide fundamental credit quality this quarter...

The modern world of finance is all about advanced technology systems, data analysis software, high-frequency trading algorithms and robo-advisors. The financial community has even spawned a name for the rise of financial technology: “fintech.” But while the lower costs and increased...

The Wall Street Journal created the graphic below to highlight the aspirations of the modern megabank and the challenges these banks face as they grow. The graphic focuses on Citigroup Inc (NYSE: C), and the WSJ divides the history of the bank into three critical periods. First, from 1990 to 1998...

In the week since the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes revealed the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates for the first time this year in June, financial services stocks and exchange-traded funds are reacting as expected. For example, the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (...

According to a report by Bloomberg, commodity-related revenue at the largest banks, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) and others, have plunged by a combined 40 percent year-over-year in the first three months of 2016. Bloomberg cited data from...

It is no secret that low, and even negative, interest rates throughout major developed markets are pinching financial services stocks and exchange-traded funds. The punishment extends beyond U.S.-focused ETFs. Negative interest rate policies (NIRP) should lower the cost of capital with the...