(By Mayur Pahilajani - iStockAnalyst Writer)
The U.S. government seems to have gained some confidence among investors as they took measures to stem the financial market crisis. One of the measures was to temporarily ban short selling of stocks in 799 financial institutions on Wall Street, effective immediately.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission imposed a temporary ban on short selling to bolster investor protections against "naked" short selling. "The Commission is committed to using every weapon in its arsenal to combat market manipulation that threatens investors and capital markets," SEC Chairman Christopher Cox said in a statement on Friday.
In the second move, the U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve are in talks with the policy-makers to rescue financial companies by helping them get rid of mortgage-related assets into a new institution. The firms have found it difficult to maintain liquidity and to trade mortgage-linked assets after the country faced worst subprime crisis since 1991.
Investors have focused on some of the regional financial firms on Friday, pushing them towards their new 52-week high rate. Some of the these financial companies include Wilshire Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: WIBC), Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE: CFR), International Bancshares Corporation (NASDAQ: IBOC), The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: PNC), SVB Financial Group (NASDAQ: SIVB) and PrivateBancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: PVTB).
Wilshire Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: WIBC):
The holding company for Wilshire State Bank had recently declared a cash dividend of $0.05 per common share, which will be payable on October 15, 2008. The Los Angeles, Calif.-based bank, which has 21 branch offices and seven loan production offices, is an SBA preferred lender nationwide. Shares of the firm swung upwards on Wall Street to a new 52-week high of $16.50 from the previous $14.39. The firm was recently trading higher by $1.06 or 7.69 percent to $14.84 on Friday.
Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE: CFR):
On Friday, Fitch Ratings upgraded the rating outlook for Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (CFR) to "positive" from "stable," citing the expectation of company's consistent performance through the credit cycle. Affirming all ratings on the company, the rating agency said that CFR is likely to emerge from the current challenging financial turmoil stronger than many of its peers.
