National City Corp. is still considering whether to participate in the federal government's program to provide capital to the nation's major banking companies, said Peter E. Raskind, its chairman, president, and chief executive.
The Cleveland company is "very well capitalized" as the result of an April transaction that provided $7 billion of capital, Mr. Raskind said Wednesday at a meeting of securities analysts.
As of June 30, National City Bank was "the most strongly capitalized" of the nation's large banks, he said, but the definition of a strongly capitalized bank may change as a result of the additional capital being injected into leading institutions.
The company will consider that as well as the implications for shareholders before deciding whether to participate in the program, he said. "I am actually quite optimistic about the future of the company," Mr. Raskind said, though he is "not glossing over the challenges we face."
Nat City, which has significant mortgage exposure, is scheduled to announce third-quarter results Tuesday.
