NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - Dec 2, 2011) - Regional Banking stocks skyrocketed earlier this week after the Federal Reserve and central banks promised to load the global financial system with liquidity in an attempt to ease pressures on the European financial markets. While the measures were more directed towards European Banks, The Wall Street Journal reports that the measures "eased overhanging concerns about US banks." The Bedford Report examines the outlook for companies in the Regional Banking Industry and provides equity research on Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE: [ RF ]) and Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: [ FITB ]). Access to the full company reports can be found at:

[ www.bedfordreport.com/RF ]

[ www.bedfordreport.com/FITB ]

The Fed released a statement saying, "These central banks have agreed to lower the pricing on the existing temporary US dollar liquidity swap arrangement by 50 basis points so that the new rate will be the US dollar overnight index swap rate plus 50 basis points." The measures address bankers' concern around the world that Europe's financial institutions can't get dollars to fund their obligations.

Although the Fed reiterated Wednesday that US regional banks were not facing a liquidity issue, the moves sparked a stock rally. "This takes care of the collateral damage that was caused by the broader European problems," said Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial.

The Bedford Report releases market research on the Regional Banking Industry so investors can stay ahead of the crowd and make the best investment decisions to maximize their returns. Take a few minutes to register with us free at [ www.bedfordreport.com ] and get exclusive access to our numerous analyst reports and industry newsletters.

Shares of Regions Financial jumped more than 14 percent Wednesday on the Fed announcement. Bloomberg reported earlier this week that Regions Financial was among the many banks that borrowed from the Federal Reserve's emergency loan program during the financial crisis. Regions accepted $3.5 billion from TARP, an amount that remains outstanding, earning the government about $44 million in dividends per quarter.

Fifth Third Bancorp is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Company has $115 billion in assets and operates 15 affiliates with 1,314 full-service Banking Centers. Fifth Third's third quarter results showed continued strength as we generated a profit of $373 million, up 14 percent from last quarter and more than doubling from last year.

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