Regional Banks Bag ?Buy? Ratings
by June 10, 2002 12:00 am 75 views
Two regional banks with large interests in Northwest Arkansas got “buy” ratings when Williams Capital Group L.P. recently inititated coverage of their stocks.
Regions Financial Corp. of Birmingham, the holding company for Regions Bank, got its Williams endorsement on May 29. Bank of Oklahoma Financial Corp., the parent for Bank of Arkansas N.A., was reccomended by Williams on May 2.
The companies already had an extensive following on Wall Street. Bank of Oklahoma fluctuated within a dollar of its $34.99 May 2 close throughout the month, and Regions’ stock had a similar reaction during the week following May 29.
Regions boasts 10 Northwest Arkansas and Arkansas River Valley locations that have more than $443 million in deposits, according to the latest market share analysis made public from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Regions, led locally by its Northwest Arkansas CEO Jerry Vest, boasted about $4.4 billion in statewide deposits during that same period.
That total made Regions the largest deposit holder in Arkansas.
Jeff Dunn, president of Bank of Arkansas, has three locations in Washington County and the bank has more than $105 million in deposits.
Williams, established in 1994, is an investment bank that serves institutional investors and corporations in the fixed income and equity capital markets. Its principal lines of business include debt and equity underwriting, secondary market trading, proprietary research, stock repurchase and corporate finance advisory.
Williams has 50 employees distributed among its New York headquarters and United Kingdom offices in London.