New issues are coming fast after the month or two break we had in March and April.
Huntington Bancshares (HBAN) has announced a new non cumulative perpetual issue. The issue should be split investment grade–BB+ by Standard and Poors and Baa3 by Moodys.
The banker has 2 other preferreds outstanding which can be seen here.
The preliminary prospectus is here.
Tennessee banker Pinnacle Financial Partners (PFFP) has announced a new non cumulative perpetual issues as well. I am seeing no rating right now for this issue.
The preliminary prospectus can be found here.
mcg and Early Bird were on these new issue.
I consider Egan Jones and Kroll ratings irrelevant. Without an S&P or Moody’s rating it is not worth the paper it is printed on. Fitch is somewhat reasonable.
A slew of new issues typically indicates a top or bottom, as companies rush to get in before the situation changes. I dont think we are at an interest rate bottom. Could it be a market top they are rushing to capture?
Benevolent Fed is buying etfs and funds.
I am watching what is going on in Hong Kong with a watchful eye. If that situation blows up, we will definitely know it was a market top.
On Pinnacle Financial Partners Pfd. I heard its BBB+ from Eagan Jones and BBB- from Kroll No SP or Moodys ratings on this.
Indication is 6 3/4 coupon
OTC Ticker for Pinnacle Series B = PNFPB
I wouldnt discount or dismiss Kroll. Egan has proven itself soft. Kroll is a bit different and actually came about from Big 3 rating atrocitys of 2008-09.
This article is a good read.
https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/b1b74shdrlpzjy/How-to-Break-Up-a-Credit-Ratings-Oligopoly
Still, S&P, Moody’s, and Fitch are ubiquitous. KBRA chose carefully where it wanted to compete with the big guys. It was an easy decision to go after residential mortgage-backed securities first, as that was ground zero for the financial crisis. But after a build-out of RMBS offerings, KBRA faced a market that was still broken from the crisis. It then went after commercial MBSs and issued its first rating in 2011. It issued a total of six ratings that year.
With a lock on the industry, the ratings agencies didn’t always offer what customers wanted. KBRA wanted to target areas that the big three had never bothered with, such as regional and community banks. KBRA also decided to hire more experienced analysts and create more lucid and to-the-point reports.
I 2nd that. I’ve actually heard from credible sources of institutional investors that Kroll is better quality ratings than even SP or Moodys.
Kroll says this is BBB-
Egan I don’t even pay attention