NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - Apr 27, 2012) - Bank stocks have skyrocketed this year as an improving economy has led to increased lending and better loan performance. Although the regional banks have been lagging behind the money center banks in 2012, they have begun to increase their market share of loan markets that the larger banks have been neglecting. Five Star Equities examines the outlook for companies in the Regional Banking Industry and provides equity research on PNC Financial Services (NYSE: [ PNC ]) and Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ: [ HBAN ]).

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[ www.FiveStarEquities.com/HBAN ]

According to Damon DelMonte, Senior Vice President of Equity Research at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, larger banks currently do not have the appetite for new loans, and as a result have begun to shy away from different areas of the market losing touch their smaller customers. This has opened up a major opportunity for small and midsized banks. "I guess if you want to characterize this, you could say the pie is not getting any bigger, but the smaller players are stealing larger slices of that pie. While the economy continues to be on the mend, the desire for new loans is still not there yet. And as I've said, smaller banks have had success taking market share from larger players."

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PNC Financial Services reported a net income of $811 million, or $1.44 per diluted common share, for the first quarter of 2012 compared with net income of $493 million, or $.85 per diluted common share, for the fourth quarter of 2011 and $832 million, or $1.57 per diluted common share, for the first quarter of 2011.

Huntington Bancshares reported 2012 first quarter net income of $153.3 million, up $26.4 million, or 21%, from $126.9 million in the prior quarter. Earnings per common share in the current quarter were $0.17, up $0.03 from the prior quarter. Net income in the year-ago quarter was $126.4 million, or $0.14 per common share.

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