Oil fears overblown in banks with energy exposure, Raymond James says

• Concerns about loans made to oil companies by energy-friendly regional banks are overblown, Raymond James analysts say, viewing the risk of material credit losses as unlikely given the conservative underwriting process.
• A sustained pullback in energy prices is certain to impact the Texas economy, although the benefits of lower oil prices on the consumer as well as potential rising interest rates could provide an offset to EPS risk for the banks, Raymond James says.
• The firm says it would selectively look to add to energy lenders such as Buy-rated Zions (NASDAQ:ZION), Texas Capital (NASDAQ:TCBI) and LegacyTexas Financial (NASDAQ:LTXB), as well as Outperform-rated BB&T (NYSE:BBT), Hancock (NASDAQ:HBHC), MidSouth (NYSEMKT:MSL), Southwest (NASDAQ:OKSB) and Regions Financial (NYSE:RF).