RF - Regions Financial Benefiting From Hedges And With Capital To Spare

• Better credit costs drove 80% of Regions' fourth quarter beat, but pre-provision profits were still better than expected, as hedging efforts paid off.
• Near-term core PPOP growth prospects are below-average, but Regions has good credit quality and options to deploy capital to value-building M&A.
• Valuation is the primary issue I have today, as Regions looks fairly-valued in a market that still offers a few bargains among banks.

For further details see: