Pressure on Multiple Fronts
October 31, 2011 2:39 PM
No Big Deals
"We're not spending any energy worrying about the really big deals. I frankly think those get a lot of talk. They are very unlikely. … We are focusing an appropriate amount of energy on the medium-size deals . Let's just call it $3 billion to $15 billion size, which I think is a good size for us today."
— Kelly King, Chairman and CEO, BB&T (Image: Bloomberg News)
Alka-Seltzer Up
"It's a volatile business . ... I personally don't understand why anyone is surprised by the volatility of investment banking. It has been and it will be." (Image: Bloomberg News)
— Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase
Harder Done Than Said
"Are we where we expected to be when we announced the transaction [for 195 HSBC branches ] Aug. 1? A simple no. Do we still believe we have a strategic home run? Definitely. Does the current environment make the execution a lot trickier ? Certainly. Are the traditional conversion and integration readiness and preparation processes going well? Absolutely." (Image: Bloomberg News)
— John Koelmel, CEO of First Niagara
Speaking of Pressure …
"We have made significant progress on our overall [cost-cutting] plan . Our bottom-line number is not yet where we'd like it to be, but progress is being made." (Image: Bloomberg News)
— William Rogers, CEO of SunTrust
Let's Go Steady
"The issue is when people split their relationship and use our convenience and our access and our 18,000 ATMs and our no-foreign-ATM fees and our online banking product and all that, and yet have their relationship elsewhere. That is tough for us to afford. … The fees are to get people to bring more relationships." (Image: Bloomberg News)
— Brian Moynihan, CEO of Bank of America
Looking While Others Leap
"We've got a great laboratory watching a number of banks that have been doing the debit fee , and we'll learn whether or not that's inelastic or elastic. We'll find out if customers complain and move, or just complain." (Image: Bloomberg News)
— Richard Davis, Chairman and CEO, U.S. Bancorp
Trying to Avoid Indigestion
With regards to M&A , we really don't see any meaningful transactions on the horizon. I think we might be interested in doing something like the BankAtlantic or Flagstar branch acquisitions if something fit and was priced appropriately. (Image: Bloomberg News)
— James Rohr, chairman and CEO of PNC
This Banker Feels Your Pain
"I understand some of the angst and the anger. This downturn has been too long . Unemployment is too high, and people are hurting. We get that." (Image: Bloomberg News)
— John Stumpf, Chairman and CEO of Wells Fargo
Healthy, But Not Confident
"Many of our customers are doing quite well, but what they are not doing is investing as they would have in the past. … As things begin to grow, confidence is going to have to build before the customers are going to reach out and begin to … build additional factory capacity." (Image: Bloomberg News)
— Ralph Babb, chairman and CEO of Comerica
Readjustment Process
"It doesn't feel to us at this point that customers have really pulled back. … People have right-sized costs, they have got their expectations right-sized for the economic environment." (Image: Bloomberg News)
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Translation: We Have Big Plans
"These share repurchase programs, in concert with our continued organic balance sheet growth and acquisition opportunities , provide a balanced and methodical approach to capital management." (Image: Bloomberg News)
— Daryl G. Byrd, CEO of Iberiabank
