Mr. Weiss: I cover banks and thrifts in the northeastern and mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The largest companies which I cover are PNC Financial Services (PNC) and M&T Bank Corp. (MTB). I also cover many of the nation's larger thrifts, including Hudson City, People's United Financial (PBCT), New York Community, Astoria (AF) and First Niagara. We also cover smaller banks, most are located in Pennsylvania and New York.
TWST: Which banks under your coverage have weathered the economic turmoil the best? What strategies did they employ to do so?
Mr. Weiss: Good question. Most of the banks based in the northeastern part of the United States have weathered the downturn fairly well. In fact, this past crisis has not affected commercial real estate in the northeast part of the country as much as the real estate crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s. The companies that weathered the storm the best are those that stuck to their knitting and maintained strict underwriting standards and did not become heavily involved in investing in exotic securities, such as trust-preferreds or CDOs. This, however, was easier said than done. Several of the companies that operate in upstate New York, companies such as First Niagara and Community Bank System, were less affected because of the market demographics, which were not conducive to the overbuilding that happened in other parts of the country. Other companies, such as Hudson City and New York Community, weathered the economic turmoil by focusing on their core strengths, which are multifamily lending in the New York metropolitan area and single-family mortgage lending, respectively.
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