STI - South State Bank Still Grinding Through Some Repositioning
“Ground and pound” may be effective, even necessary, as a strategy, but it’s not a lot of fun to watch, and I believe the sluggish near-term results (and expectations) for South State Bank (SSB) continue to explain this bank’s relative underperformance to broader bank indices, as well as regional peers/rivals like BB&T (BBT), Bank of America (BAC), First Citizens (FCNCA), SunTrust (STI), and Wells Fargo (WFC). Although loan growth has perked up a bit and deposit costs remain low, real earnings acceleration is