The subprime crisis has decimated large financial institutions and has ultimately transformed the current financial services landscape as we known it. Tarnished assets have continued to grow and develop on balance sheets across the markets as mergers and acquisitions, along with governmental action, has been a necessity to keep the economy afloat. In what seems like the blink of an eye, Fannie Mae (FNM: 1.01, 0.00 (0.00%)), Freddie Mac (FRE: 1.03, 0.00 (0.00%)), Lehman Brothers, Wachovia (WB: 3.60, 0.00 (0.00%)) ,AIG (AIG: 2.39, 0.00 (0.00%)), and Merrill Lynch (MER: 13.32, 0.00 (0.00%)) all have had to call upon the help of the government or another firm to salvage themselves.

One company that has withstood this market turbulence has been PNC Financial Services (PNC: 59.85, 0.00 (0.00%)). With their superior foresight and pristine executive leadership, PNC identified subprime lending as a detriment to their business model and ceased to divulge in this business practice. Currently, only 2% of PNC’s $143 billion in assets is tied to subprime mortgages. Year-to-date, PNC’s stock has actually appreciated in value by approximately 16% while the XLF index has lost over 33%. That is a stunning out performance of 49%. With this performance the Pittsburgh based corporation, with over 1,000 branches and 28,000 employees, is positioned to emerge in this battered financial landscape as one of the top tier banks in the United States.

PNC’s Subprime Suvival

It takes more than just a conservative, wise approach to lending practices to withstand the financial distress being realized in the markets today. A company needs to be diverse, with multiple revenue streams to compliment their strong leadership. Not many companies exhibit this trait as PNC does.

PNC has four business lines; retail banking, corporate and institutional banking, PNC global and investment servicing, and asset management.