- PNC Financial (PNC +1.7%) hasn't made a major purchase since its buy of RBC Bank USA three years ago, but it sounds like the waters are starting to part if one reads between the lines of comments by CFO Robert Reilly.
- "“It wouldn’t be looking at an acquisition as a strategic necessity, it would be looking for the opportunity it presents,” he tells attendees at a financial services conference.
- Previously, Reilly and CEO WIlliam Demchak have brushed aside questions about big bank purchases, so the change in communications is what's important here, says Henry Beukema from Guyasuta Investment Advisors.
- For now, says Reilly, the bank will focus on its technology agenda, which is about reducing risk and enhancing client service.
- More from Beukema: "I’d be focused on adding to the fee businesses ... If you could find a niche player in credit or bid on some of the assets GE was selling or spinning off, that’s a scenario that’s interesting. You could potentially get good cross-sell. But if you’re looking to create a more stable business model — and we’ve seen PNC add 300 investment managers to the RBC assets — you’d buy an investment management business."
- Source: Pittsburgh Business Times