STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Tuesday, 24 January 2012

[Demeter]

38. Pandit Pariah No More as U.S. Bankers Hunting Deals in Ascendance at Davos

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-23/pandit-pariah-no-more-as-u-s-bankers-gain-ascendancy-at-davos.html

Vikram Pandit, leader of the U.S. bank that took the most government aid in the financial crisis and that has the worst stock performance over the past decade, is ready for a starring role at Davos.

Pandit, 55, is one of six co-chairs of the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in the Swiss ski resort this week, the first from a U.S. bank since JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Jamie Dimon in 2008. Pandit leads a delegation that includes top officials of five of the six biggest banks, including Dimon and Bank of America Corp. (BAC) Chief Executive Officer Brian T. Moynihan.

U.S. bankers come to this year’s meeting at a relative advantage to European rivals even as all are struggling with declining revenue, low stock prices and new regulations. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Financials Index dropped 14 percent in the past year, half as much as the 46-company Bloomberg Europe Banks and Financial Services Index. (BEBANKS) European lenders are facing higher borrowing costs and capital shortages as the future of the region’s single currency comes under threat.

“U.S. financial institutions and banks have improved their position relative to two or three years ago,” said Gary Parr, a New York-based vice chairman of investment bank Lazard Ltd. (LAZ) who specializes in advising financial companies and will be attending the conference for the second time. European banks “are in the midst of the sale of portfolios, assets and businesses that could last at least a couple of years.”