NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - May 28, 2012) - The U.S. Banking Industry has continued to show signs of recovery coming out of the recent recession. The industry saw just 16 FDIC-insured banks fail in the first quarter of the year, the lowest total since the end of 2008, according to the FDIC's quarterly banking profile. Also the number of banks at risk of failure fell to 772, the lowest total since the end of 2009, from 813 in the previous quarter. Five Star Equities examines the outlook for companies in the Banking Industry and provides equity research on PNC Financial Services (NYSE: [ PNC ]) and U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: [ USB ]).

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Last Thursday, the FDIC stated that the U.S. Banking Industry posted a first quarter profit of $35.3 billion, their best since 2007. FDIC-insured banks first quarter profits grew 23 percent ($6.6 billion) from the year prior, marking the 11^th consecutive quarter profits have shown a year-over-year increase according to the FDIC. "The condition of the industry continues to gradually improve," said Martin J. Gruenberg, the FDIC's acting chairman. "Insured institutions have made steady progress in shedding bad loans, bolstering net worth and increasing profitability."

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The PNC Financial Services Group last month reported 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. PNC completed the acquisition of RBC Bank (USA), the U.S. retail banking subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada, on March 2, 2012. PNC now has 2,900 branches across 17 states and the District of Columbia.

U.S. Bank has recently introduced an app for Android that allows customers of select retail partners to apply for a credit card while they are shopping and if approved, use it to pay for purchases before they leave the store. "The U.S. Bank Card App for iPhone and now Android enables our partners to offer convenience and immediate purchasing power to more customers, regardless of their mobile devices," said John Owens, senior vice president of U.S. Bank Retail Payment Solutions. "U.S. Bank is continually looking for mobile opportunities to enhance the relationship with our partners and the experience our customers have interacting with us."

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