KEYCORP quarterly report, Q2 FY2009

KeyCorp (KEY) — Second-Quarter 2009 Form 10-Q

Reporting period: Quarter and six months ended June 30, 2009. Financial amounts are in millions of dollars unless otherwise noted. Interim statements were reviewed, not audited; the independent accountant reported no material modifications needed for GAAP conformity.

Business context and financial results

KeyCorp is a bank holding company operating through Community Banking and National Banking, with lending, deposits, wealth management, equipment finance and capital-markets businesses. Results reflected a weak economy, rising credit costs and actions to bolster capital. Management described modest signs of economic improvement but continued pressure on borrowers and financial markets.

MetricQ2 2009Q2 2008Six months 2009Six months 2008
Net interest income, GAAP$592$358$1,206$1,071
Noninterest income$715$547$1,200$1,071
Provision for loan losses$850$647$1,725$834
Noninterest expense$870$777$1,812$1,506
Net loss attributable to Key$(226)$(1,126)$(714)$(908)
Net loss attributable to Key common shareholders$(390)$(1,126)$(926)$(908)
Loss per common share, diluted$(0.68)$(2.70)$(1.73)$(2.23)
  • Q2 net interest margin was 2.67%, down from 2.77% in Q1 2009 and 3.32% in Q2 2008 after excluding the prior-year leveraged-lease litigation impact. Management cited lower asset yields, nonperforming loans, higher-cost deposit mix and increased lower-yielding liquid assets.
  • Q2 noninterest income included $125 of securities-repositioning gains, a $95 gain on exchanging common shares for capital securities, and a $32 gain on sale of a Lehman bankruptcy claim. These items materially lifted reported revenue.
  • Q2 continuing-operations loss attributable to Key was $236; common-share results also reflected $164 of preferred-stock dividends and related deemed dividend, including a $114 noncash deemed dividend.

Financial condition, credit and liquidity

  • At June 30, 2009, total assets were $97.8 billion, down from $104.5 billion at December 31, 2008. Loans were $70.8 billion, versus $76.5 billion at year-end; total deposits were $67.9 billion, up from $65.3 billion.
  • Allowance for loan losses was $2.50 billion, or 3.53% of loans, compared with $1.80 billion, or 2.36%, at year-end 2008 and $1.42 billion, or 1.87%, a year earlier. Q2 net charge-offs were $539 million, or 2.99% of average loans.
  • Nonperforming assets rose to $2.55 billion from $1.46 billion at year-end 2008; nonperforming loans were $2.19 billion. Impaired loans increased to $1.92 billion. Management expected nonperforming loans to continue rising in 2009 and charge-offs to remain elevated, with further reserve increases possible.
  • Six-month cash flow: $588 provided by operating activities, $3.07 billion provided by investing activities and $4.19 billion used in financing activities. Cash and due from banks declined $534 to $723.
  • Long-term debt was $13.46 billion; bank notes and other short-term borrowings were $1.71 billion, down from $8.48 billion at year-end 2008. Key reported $7.2 billion of liquid assets and unused secured borrowing capacity of $19.0 billion at the Federal Reserve and Federal Home Loan Bank combined. Management said stress tests indicated capacity to fund operations for at least one year under a severe scenario.
  • Capital ratios at quarter-end: Tier 1 risk-based 12.57%, total risk-based 16.67%, leverage 12.26% and Tier 1 common equity 7.36%. The Tier 1 common equity ratio was 5.62% at year-end 2008. KeyBank qualified as “well capitalized” under regulatory thresholds.

Material changes, capital actions and unusual items

  • Regulators’ SCAP assessment required Key to raise $1.8 billion of additional Tier 1 common or contingent common equity. Key said it had met the requirement through common-stock issuance, preferred-stock and institutional capital-securities exchanges, securities sales and reduced dividend and interest obligations. The Q2 capital actions substantially increased shares outstanding.
  • After quarter-end, Key completed a retail capital-securities exchange, issuing 81.3 million common shares and generating approximately $505 million of additional Tier 1 common equity. Verify the post-quarter transaction’s final accounting and resulting dilution.
  • Common dividends were reduced to $0.01 per share per quarter from $0.0625; management said it did not expect to raise the dividend above $0.01 for the foreseeable future. Key paid the U.S. Treasury a $31 million quarterly dividend on Series B preferred stock.
  • Key recorded a $196 million noncash intangible-asset impairment in Q1 2009 and wrote off all goodwill assigned to National Banking. Austin Capital Management was classified as a discontinued operation after management decided to curtail it; its Q2 discontinued-operations result was income of $10 million, while first-half discontinued operations showed a $12 million loss.
  • The Q2 2008 comparison was unusually depressed by a $1.011 billion after-tax charge related to leveraged-lease tax litigation. Key and the IRS resolved the outstanding federal issues for tax years 1997–2003; Key had deposited $2.0 billion with the IRS for expected tax and interest payments. Key accrued $32 million for potential state penalties.
  • FDIC assessments increased materially: Q2 expense was $70 million versus $2 million a year earlier, including a $44 million special assessment. Keyvolution targeted $300–$375 million of annualized cost savings by 2012; management reported an approximately 8% workforce reduction over 15 months.

Outlook, risks and contingencies

  • Management cited continued weakness in credit quality, especially commercial real estate, marine and non-government-guaranteed education lending. Progress in reducing selected exit portfolios was slower than anticipated because of weak markets and restricted liquidity.
  • Key identified risks from further economic deterioration, additional loan losses, insufficient reserves, asset-value declines, interest-rate changes, capital-market disruption and funding costs. Credit-rating downgrades could restrict liquidity, increase collateral requirements and raise funding costs.
  • Outstanding contingent exposures included standby letters of credit with $13.09 billion maximum potential payments and $100 million recorded liability; total listed financial guarantees had $14.25 billion maximum potential payments and $201 million recorded liability. These maximum amounts are not expected-loss estimates; management assessed payment/performance risk as low.
  • KeyBank faced unresolved Visa and MasterCard assessments related to the Heartland Payment Systems data intrusion. Key pursued appeals and had indemnification rights against Heartland, but had not recorded a reserve because the net exposure could not be quantified. Austin-related Madoff claims and ERISA litigation were also pending; the filing described insurance coverage for the Madoff matter subject to a $25 million deductible and policy terms.
  • Management was evaluating new accounting rules effective in 2010 concerning financial-asset transfers and variable-interest-entity consolidation; their effects were not yet clear.

Investor verification priorities

  • Track quarterly charge-offs, nonperforming assets, impaired loans and allowance coverage, particularly commercial real estate and exit portfolios.
  • Separate recurring revenue and earnings from securities gains, capital-exchange gains, Lehman-claim proceeds and other unusual items.
  • Verify SCAP compliance, capital ratios after the post-quarter exchange, and dilution from common-share issuance and preferred or capital-security exchanges.
  • Monitor deposit mix, FDIC assessments, funding access, credit ratings and the availability of secured liquidity.
  • Follow IRS/state tax settlement payments and potential penalties, Heartland assessments and indemnification recovery, and Austin/Madoff litigation developments.