July 15 (Reuters) – U.S. bank PNC Financial reported record quarterly revenue on Wednesday, boosted by robust capital markets activity and its acquisition of regional lender FirstBank.
Dealmaking on Wall Street has accelerated in 2026 as companies take advantage of a more relaxed regulatory environment to pursue scale.
PNC completed the $4.1 billion acquisition of FirstBank in January, bolstering presence in Colorado and Arizona.
Its capital markets and advisory revenue surged 80% over the year earlier to $577 million during the second quarter, underpinned by record M&A advisory fees and strong activity across other businesses.
During the period, PNC’s Harris Williams advised electrical equipment maker Hubbell on the $3 billion acquisition of NSI Industries.
Net interest income, the difference between what a bank earns on loans and pays out on deposits, jumped 16% to $4.11 billion, driven by strong loan growth, the FirstBank acquisition and lower deposit costs.
The results reflect the broad-based strength of the U.S. economy. Robust consumer spending has kept credit quality strong and boosted loan demand.
Average loans rose 13% during the quarter, while net interest margin – a key measure of profitability – expanded 16 basis points.
Profit jumped 25% to $2.06 billion, or $4.81 per share, in the three months ended June 30. Revenue increased 21% to $6.88 billion.
BOND PORTFOLIO REJIG
PNC booked a one-time gain of $448 million during the quarter, after monetizing a portion of its long-held stake in card giant Visa.
Several U.S. banks have used one-time gains, including those from asset sales, in recent years to rejig their bond securities portfolio and soften the hit from selling securities.
PNC took a $139 million hit after repositioning about $4 billion of investment securities into higher-yielding paper in the quarter. It had implemented a similar strategy in 2024.
(Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
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