We spoke to analyst Aaron Deer of Sandler O’Neill + Partners in the most recent issue of TWST, as part of our special focus on Western Banks. He gave us a relatively positive outlook for the space, given the current state of the economy:

 Mr. Deer: I certainly think the banks are doing the right things. The problem assets are working their way through the pipeline, they’re selling notes that they can sell, they’re selling their foreclosed assets. But as quickly as they’re able to move things off the balance sheet, new problems are developing. So it’s a process, but they’re doing what they need to do. Maybe most encouraging is the fact that the banks have had some success in raising new capital to bolster their balance sheets. Meanwhile, they’re also taking steps to improve liquidity. In the first quarter, we saw strong deposit growth at most banks in the West. My sense is that has continued into the second quarter.

For the complete Western Banks report, including a full interview with Mr. Deer, as well as CEOs from top companies in the space, click here. 

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 21st, 2009 at 5:25 pm and is filed under Financial Services Stocks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.