BofA cuts may aid PNC as rivals challenge too-big-to-fail companies

PNC Financial Services Group Inc (PNC), US Bancorp and Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) are among firms that may benefit as Bank of America Corp (BAC) sells assets to raise capital.

PNC this year pushed deeper into the southeast, a Bank of America stronghold, with the purchase of Royal Bank of Canada’s US retail unit. US Bancorp is investing in corporate banking and wealth management, a domain of BofA’s Merrill Lynch, as it increases offerings for high-net-worth clients. Toronto-Dominion agreed last month to buy Bank of America’s credit-card business in Canada and also has expanded in the US.

“The winners out of this will be those banks that aren’t in the too-big-to-fail category,” said Blake Howells, an analyst at Portland, Oregon-based Becker Capital Management Inc., which oversees $2.2 billion, including Bank of America shares. Regional lenders and banks aiming to round out product lines will benefit most, he said. Bank of America Chief Executive Officer Brian T Moynihan is selling businesses to build capital as housing losses drain resources and regulators tighten rules on how lenders manage funds. It also announced plans this week to cut 30,000 jobs in the next few years.