(NYSE: WFC) The (NYSE: BAC) American (NYSE: JPM) (NYSE:C) (NYSE: USB) Banking Week (NYSE: PNC) (NYSE:BBT)

New York- What a week it was for the majority of the ten largest banks in America. It was a week of profit, it was a week of more profit; it was the tale of Wall Street irrationality. It all started on Monday when Citigroup, the nations third largest lender posted $2.1 billion of profit and topped estimates. Everything was going great; the sun was shining; things were looking up and banking stocks roared. Then on Tuesday, Bank of America the nations largest bank came up to bat, BAC said they had earned earned $3.1 billion and everyone jumped for joy. But wait just a minute said investors, why does their income statement show a 7.3 billion dollar loss? What is happening with the foreclosure scandal? Why is my tea cold? It must be Bank of America's fault and this quiet optimism soon faded into the night like a distant dream. Wells Fargo and the other banks plummeted as BAC said sorry guys.

San Francisco's own Wells Fargo was up next, they said thanks BAC but we'll take it from here and "we'll go far," as they announced a record $3.34 billion of profit. Investors remained tepid at first, as they were ready to crush the bank stocks for a second straight day. Wells Fargo sunk 2% in the pre-market, but then they said what the heck this is a great stock, lets buy it and the stock roared 5%. Then it was U.S. Bancorp's turn, the nations 5th largest lender reported a profit of $871 million but investors did not know what to do, and kept the stock flat on the day. Today they decided it was actually a great report and the stock rose 2.3%.

PNC, Sun Trust and BB&T reported today. PNC soared as the company recorded a near record profit. Investors were relieved when Sun Trust Banks reported their first profit in over a year and BB&T shares sunk when they announced $210 million of profit.

And that was the banking week in America, completely illogical, irrational, but very enjoyable to watch from the outside.

PNC, Nearly A New Record (NYSE: PNC)

NEW YORK - PNC Financial the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania based lender recorded a near record profit of $1.1 billion for the third quarter 2010. The bank was helped by the sale of PNC Global Investment division for $328 million, without this earnings would have been $1.56 a share instead of $2.07. PNC reversed liabilities they had accrued in the second quarter which impacted earnings by $86 million. Restructuring charges resulting from the acquisition of National City Corporation decreased by $10.5 million.

PNC operates its business in six segments, Retail Banking, Corporate Banking, Asset Management Group, Residential Mortgage Banking, Distressed Assets Portfolio and Other including BlackRock.

The Retail Banking division posted a loss of $7 million down from a profit of $80 million in Q2. The results were impacted by the implementation of "Regulation E" which pertains to overdraft charges. In Q4, PNC will incur another charge due to Regulation E which will impact earnings by an extra $32 million. Credit provisions which increased in Q3 are likely to decline in Q4.

The Corporate Banking Segment posted a profit of $427 million compared to $443 million in Q2. The company was hurt by lower revenues as well as a reduction in the value of PNC's mortgage servicing rights which reduced earnings by $72 million. The company had a $48 million benefit for credit losses compared to provisions of $97 million in the second quarter.

The Asset Management Group posted a gain of $44 million in Q3 compared to $28 million in Q2. The group benefited from a release of credit reserves.

Residential Mortgage Banking recorded a profit of $98 million compared to $92 million in Q2.

The Distressed Assets Portfolio recorded a profit of $17 million compared to a loss of $81 million in Q2. The company benefited from a sharp decrease in provisions.

Other including BlackRock, reported a profit of $196 million down from $219 million in Q2. The results were impacted by a reversal of certain accrued liabilities.

In Q4 Allan Edwards the CEO of The Markets Are Open expects PNC to record a profit of $890 million or $1.69 a share.

To see the full PNC report Click Here

PNC Earnings Up

PNC Financial Services Group is reporting third quarter income of $1.1 billion. That works out to $2.07 per diluted common share. The numbers come on a net income of $803 million. The company earned net income of $2.6 billion, or $4.24 per diluted common share, for the first nine months of 2010 compared with $1.3 billion for the first nine months of 2009. In a written statement PNC CEO James Rohr says the bank did well in a “challenging operating environment.” Rohr says, “Our disciplined focus on execution resulted in improved credit quality, record capital levels and an overall higher quality balance sheet." “While the outlook for the economy remains uncertain, I am confident that our business model will continue to deliver differentiated results," says Rohr. PNC continued its effort to move to a more “moderate risk profile” and Rohr says that helped the company’s bottom line.

PNC Well Above Estimates (NYSE: PNC)

PNC Financial the Pittsburgh based bank and the nations sixth largest lender reported earnings of $1.1 billion or 2.07 a share. Allan Edwards the CEO of The Markets Are Open said yesterday he expected earnings of $1.1 billion. To see his comments from yesterday click here. The company reminded investors of the difficult environment despite the strong results. In the quarter shareholders equity improved to $29.4.

The PNC Is Right (NYSE: PNC)

PNC Financial the Pittsburgh based bank and the nations sixth largest lender is set to report its quarterly results tomorrow morning. The current consensus estimate calls for PNC to earn $1.36 a share. What is set in stone as of today is that PNC will earn $135 million profit on its BlackRock division as the company today reported profit of $551 million. BlackRock is a former subsidiary of PNC that is still 24.6% controlled by the company. Allan Edwards the CEO of The Markets Are Open is expecting earnings of $2.09 a share or $1.1 billion.

Shares of PNC remained flattish on the day as investors await the earnings release.

To see the full PNC report Click Here

The PNC Rises to the Top (NYSE: PNC)

NEW YORK- PNC financial is the top major U.S. bank gainer on the day. The shares of the Pittsburgh based banking giant have begun to surge as investors have eased concerns about the foreclosure scandal. The scandal which swept across the United States last week involves banking employees not properly reviewing necessary documents and improperly foreclosing on homes. Analysts worry that the banks will face liabilities. One also has to wonder how much of the liability will be directed to the employees who committed these liabilities.

Bank of America reported $3.1 billion of profit for their third quarter results today excluding a one time charge for the impairment of goodwill. This has sent financials mostly higher on the day. PNC will report its earnings on Thursday. Investors will pay special attention to the PNC report. PNC the 6th largest financial institution in the United States by assets and is largely regarded as the bank that did it the right way during the financial criss as it was not heavily involved in sub prime mortgage loans that have hampered Citigroup and Bank of America over the last two years.

The PNC Nation (NYSE: PNC)

NEW YORK- PNC Financial has pounded higher in morning trade. Investors were pleased with the stronger than expected results of Citigroup the banking giant which has appeared to recover from the problems it faced in 2008 and 2009 which nearly led to its collapse. The banking giant reported net income of 7 cents a share or $2.2 billion. Investors are hoping that the major banks that report this week will also report strong results.

PNC Financial located in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania is largely regarded as the strongest and best run bank in the country. The company was not involved in many of the sub prime problems that plagued Bank of America, Wachovia and Citigroup. PNC has reassured investors that at least one bank in the U.S. still does it the right way. PNC has been a model for the banking community over the last two years as it has reminded other corporations that a bank can still be profitable without taking excessive risks.

To see the full PNC report Click Here

The Warren Buffett Type (NYSE:WFC) Bank (NYSE:PNC) (NYSE:BRK.A)

Warren Buffett the legendary investor from Omaha Nebraska known to the investing community as the "Oracle of Omaha" for his ability to predict the future. Buffett has always been heavily invested in financial stocks since the future of money is easier to be guessed than the future of computer software. Buffett currently owns 39.3% of his portfolio in financial stocks and his company runs one of the largest insurance divisions in the world. Buffett owns 320 million shares or 6% of the outstanding stock in Wells Fargo the fourth largest financial institution in the United States.

Despite having such a large weighting towards financials Buffett is very particular about which banks he will invest in. This is likely why the the bank Buffet is heavily invested in, Wells Fargo is down very little in the last 2 years while many other banks such as Bank of America and Citigroup have lost over 70% of their value. In fact earlier this year Wells Fargo was more valuable than it had been two years before. This shows the quality that Buffett looks for in a financial institution. In order to find a Buffett like bank lets examine some of the reasons why he bought Wells Fargo in 1990.

"With Wells Fargo, we think we have obtained the best managers in the business, Carl Reichardt and Paul Hazen... Our purchases of Wells Fargo in 1990 were helped by a chaotic market in bank stocks... Wells Fargo is big - it has $56 billion in assets - and has been earning more than 20% on equity (ROE) and 1.25% on assets (ROA)."

The first priority of Warren Buffett is to choose a bank with the best managers and best culture. The next factor he looks for is its ROA and ROE. Wells Fargo has consistently earned more than 1.5% on assets and 20% over the last 20 years. PNC Financial would also be a Buffett like investment since it has consistently had an ROA above 1.5% and ROE above 20% over the last ten years. Buffett also looks for safety and just like Wells Fargo, PNC is down very little since the beginning of the financial crisis.

The second thing Buffett looks for is the amount of risk a bank has. He has stated "Because leverage of 20:1 magnifies the effects of managerial strengths and weaknesses, we have no interest in purchasing shares of a poorly-managed bank at a "cheap" price. Instead, our only interest is in buying into well-managed banks at fair prices."

Buffett mentions that because of the substantial leverage some banks use he would not be interested in investing in a bank even if was at a fair price because leverage could be to high. This can be seen in Deutsche Bank which has leverage of almost 65 to 1. The leverage is so high it has recently asked shareholders to undertake a capital raising initiative. Even with this capital offering Deutsche Bank will still use more leverage than the average bank. When this amount of leverage is used a mistake by management will be magnified. Most of the European Banks have substantially more leverage than that of the U.S. meaning Buffett would likely not be interested in them despite their low prices.

Most of the American banks use substantially less leverage today than the 20 to 1 mentioned by Buffett that the banks typically used in 1990. Currently, PNC has leverage of 11 to 1 and Wells Fargo leverage is 13 to 1. This means these banks are extremely safe and well capitalized. These are two investments Warren Buffett would make if he were to invest in a bank today.

The Banking (NYSE: BAC) (NYSE:WFC) Week (NYSE:PNC) in (NYSE: C) (NYSE:USB) America

LIVERPOOL - Major banks report earnings next week. The banks have been beaten to a pulp as of late as investors look for information regarding the foreclosure scandal. Investors will be clued in to conference calls from BAC, WFC, C, USB, PNC. All these stocks were brutally punished last week (except USB) but clarity will be given this week. Investors often enjoy selling the news when there is negative sentiment no matter what it is, and this may happen also next week.

Most of the banks are nearing their 52 week lows, including BAC which hit a fresh 52 week low of $11.75 on Friday. The current market capitalization of BAC is now equivalent to that of more troubled Citigroup. In fact larger J.P Morgan only has a $30 billion premium to that of Citigroup despite not facing many of the problems that have plagued Citi.

A Week You Can Bank On (NYSE: BAC) (NYSE: WFC) (NYSE: PNC) (NYSE: C) (NYSE: USB)

LIVERPOOL - Major banks report earnings next week. The banks have been beaten to a pulp as of late as investors look for information regarding the foreclosure scandal. Investors will be clued in to conference calls from BAC, WFC, C, USB, PNC.

All these stocks were brutally punished last week (except USB) but clarity will be given this week.

The banks stocks could sell off further on the news.

Banking (NYSE:BAC) on (NYSE:WFC) America's (NYSE: C) (NYSE:JPM) (NYSE:PNC) (NYSE:USB) (NYSE:BBT) Weak Stomach

Stocks of the largest financial institutions at midday. Wells Fargo is down 3%, JPM 3%, BAC 4.7%, C 2% PNC 1% USB is up .7% and BBT is down 0.83%. The banks are being sold off on "Robogate" which is a foreclosure scandal that could hit many of the nations lenders.

The scandal involves foreclosures on houses by the banks without the necessary documentation and the foreclosure of houses using robo-signers which is when workers involved in forclosures indicate the documentation is present when it is not. This has caused an investigation into whether the banks have violated the law in certain states.

J.P. Morgan is currently reviewing about 115,000 mortgages that are in the foreclosure process and is expanding the temporary moratorium to 41 states.

To give investors a hint on why the current declines in the banking stocks are absurd. Is that the current number of J.P Morgan houses under review where to triple to 345,000 and we use an average home value of 300,000 and we write off all J.P. Morgan's loans on these homes to zero you get a charge of 10 billion. Not only will JPM likely not have to write off any of these loans, it is also likely they will face a very small legal charges.

J.P. Morgan's market cap has already declined by more than our most absurd scenario. This usually gives a hint into that the big fund managers and the people selling the stock have no idea what they are doing.

PNC The Shining Bank On The Hill (NYSE:PNC)

PNC Financial has continued to out duel rival bank in terms of stock and earning performance as the financial crisis which began in 2007 comes to and end. PNC is able to do this because of its CEO James Rohr who took over in 2000. In 2007 Rohr was awarded the American Banker of the year. Under Rohr PNC has taken risk management seriously, Rohr stated, "we changed the risk management profile of the company and adopted a very strong risk management culture with a moderate risk profile." The result was that PNC strayed from risky lending and leveraged buyouts. This received complaints from investors early on in the decade but today PNC towers over most of its competition.

In 2002 the Securities and Exchange Commission accused PNC of "materially false and misleading" statements when it reported its 2001 fourth-quarter and full-year earnings. PNC agreed to pay $25 million in penalties. This scandal also caused changes to PNC's risk management and the company decided to exceed the highest standards. This tight risk management will help PNC in the ongoing credit foreclosure scandal. It is likely a company of such quality will be better off than the companies who have processed foreclosure documents to quickly.

PNC (NYSE:PNC) Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) Citigroup (NYSE:C) J.P. Morgan (NYSE:JPM) Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) U.S Bancorp (NYSE:USB) Face "Robogate"

Stocks of the largest financial institutions were off as the markets open. Wells Fargo was down 4%, JPM 3%, BAC 4%, C 3.2% PNC 2.1% and USB is down 1.7%. The banks are being sold off on "Robogate" which is a foreclosure scandal that could hit many of the nations lenders.

The scandal involves foreclosures on houses by the banks without the necessary documentation and the foreclosure of houses using robo-signers which is when workers involved in forclosures indicate the documentation is present when it is not. This has caused an investigation into whether the banks have violated the law in certain states. Banks are known to be more at risk in the "so-called judicial states." The Judicial States make it mandatory for a lender to go to court before it can foreclose on a loan. In non-judicial states, banks aren’t required to submit anything to the court until they are sued by a homeowner seeking to stop a foreclosure. The problem can be two-fold for the banks. The first one being that they may have violated the law in certain states and the second one being they do not have the necessary documentation required for future foreclosures.

Some of the banks are having trouble of identifying the owner of the actual mortgages. This was caused by the securitization of the mortgages industry which also led to the financial crisis in 2008. The securatization is the repackaging of mortgages into smaller pieces and then selling them like bonds or stocks to investors. The issue would be if banks have submitted forged documents in order to get the foreclosure processed and if the banks have the documents necessary to foreclose on future loans. All of these problems are rectified if the banks prove they own the mortgage.

One would hope that a bank which primary business is usually mortgages would keep appropriate documentation to prove that they own their most important asset. If the banks do not have this documentation who is the customer and who is the bank?

The Shining PNC on The Hill (NYSE:PNC)

New York- The shining light on top of the hill was PNC Financial today. The stock finished even on the day despite most of the financial sector falling. The banks began the day with rosy numbers from J.P. Morgan which investors decided to sell. Investors decided to use J.P. Morgan's strong results as a springboard to sell all the major U.S. financial institutions. Bank of America was also down significantly on the day. However, PNC Financial stayed higher as investors view the bank as the "Shining City on The Hill."

PNC Financial is both a super community bank as well as a National Bank. Currently PNC is the 6th largest bank in the United States according to deposits. PNC is scheduled to report earnings on October 21.

To see the full PNC report Click Here

PNC Meets Stress Test Demands

Pittsburgh based PNC Financial Services says it has met the demands of the US Treasury Department following its so-called “stress test.” PNC was asked to raise $600 million in common equity. PNC CEO James Rohr says, "I am pleased that were we able to raise the required $600 million… at market prices and in a relatively short time frame." The Treasury Dept. had given PNC and other financial institutions 6 months to raise the equity. The company issued 15 million shares of common stock through an "at the market" offering. PNC launched that offering May 14. Rohr says, “PNC expects to continue to increase its common equity as a proportion of total capital through growth in retained earnings and will consider other capital opportunities as appropriate.” The company says it has no plans to convert $7.6 billion in preferred shares held by the U.S. Treasury Department into common stock.

PNC Cuts Dividend

PNC Financial Services says it will reduce the company's quarterly common stock dividend from 66 cents to just 10 cents per share as of its next dividend that is due out next month. PNC CEO Jim Rohr says "We are taking this proactive step to build capital, further strengthen our balance sheet and serve our customers in an unprecedented and uncertain economy." In an investor conference call Rohr went on to say, "While our overall capital and liquidity positions are strong, extreme market deterioration and the changing regulatory environment drove this difficult but prudent decision.” PNC is in the process of taking over National City and Rohr says that is going smoothly and is expected to help the company going forward. He says PNC's businesses are performing as expected in the first quarter with strong client growth. Sales are above expectations, and the company continues to increase share in its newly acquired markets. One goal of the dividend reduction is to help make credit available to customers. Rohr says the move should also, “…position PNC for full redemption of the U.S. Treasury Department's preferred stock investment as soon as appropriate.” The move is expected to save PNC about $1 billion a year.