Zions Bancorp. (NASDAQ: ZION) is scheduled to release its fourth-quarter financial results after the closing bell on Monday, January 24, 2011. Analysts, on average, expect the company to report earnings of 37 cents per share on revenue of $559.75 million. In the year ago quarter, the company reported a loss of $1.26 per share on revenue of $522.78 million.
Zions Bancorporation, a multi bank holding company, provides various banking and related products and services in the United States. Zions operates its banking businesses under local management teams and community identities through approximately 500 offices in 10 Western and Southwestern states.
In the preceding third quarter, the Salt Lake City, Utah-based company's net loss was $80.47 million or $0.47 per share, compared to a loss of $181.88 million or $1.43 per share in the previous year. The results benefited from relativey steady loan balances (excluding FDIC and construction supported loans) and an improved core net interest margin.
Zions ended the third quarter with record high capital levels, and management attributed asset quality improvement across all major sectors a factor for the improved results. The company expects the trend to continue into the fourth quarter. Like many regional banks, Zion has been actively disposing of assets, selling troubled loans and writing off assets regularly each quarter. Zion's management believes that the company can underwrite new loans that are better quality than the current assets because the firm is actively lending out capital with nearly $2.5 billion in new originations last quarter. The company is also poised to benefit from an improving labor market and a strengthening housing market, along with ultra-cheap short-term financing and attractive long-term investments. However, the company's out-sized term CRE book in hard-hit geographies still remain concerns.
Zions Bancorp received $1.4 billion in TARP funds in 2008. The money was used to bolster the regional bank’s capital reserves. Zions has said in the past that it will repay the TARP money only after showing some consistent level of profitability. It also wants to see evidence the economy is healing at a steady pace.
In terms of stock performance, ZION shares have gained nearly 40 percent over the past year.
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