Capital Bank Financial Corp (CBF), National Bank Holdings Corp (NBHC), Regions Financial Corporation (RF): Reasons to Buy These Undervalued Banks

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Capital Bank Financial Corp (NASDAQ:CBF)In the U.S., there are a large number of small-cap banks which are currently undervalued in terms of their book value multiples while analysts expect a bullish turnaround. By small cap, I mean banks with the market cap of less than $1 billion. In this article, I’m going to evaluate a combination of small and mid cap banks including Capital Bank Financial Corp (NASDAQ:CBF), National Bank Holdings Corp (NYSE:NBHC) and Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF). I believe these banks are excellent choices for risk-averse investors.

Growth in low cost deposits and geographical expansion

Capital Bank Financial Corp (NASDAQ:CBF) (formerly known as North American Financial) is a holding company of Capital Bank. Former vice chairman of Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC), Gene Taylor is the chief executive of Capital Bank. In the first quarter of 2013, Capital Bank Financial Corp (NASDAQ:CBF) reported net income of $5.6 million compared with a net income of $5.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2012. The first quarter ended with a Tier 1 leverage ratio of 13.2% and tangible book value of $17.89 per share. In terms of loan production, Capital Bank Financial Corp (NASDAQ:CBF) originated $251.4 million in the first quarter of 2013.

In 2012, the acquisition of Southern Community proved to be a growth story in deposits. The acquisition also gave the bank a different geographical location to place its footprint. Most of the loans of Capital Bank Financial Corp (NASDAQ:CBF) are owner-occupied commercial real estate and account for 61% of the total commercial real state loans, while commercial and residential stand second and third, respectively.

During the first quarter of 2013, the cost of deposits dropped 3 bps to 0.5%, which is expected to decline further. So, the anticipated drop in the cost of deposits coupled with geographical expansion due to the recent acquisition will play a key role in the growth of the coming quarters.

Surge in commercial lending

National Bank Holdings Corp (NYSE:NBHC) operates as the bank holding company for Bank Midwest, which provides financial services to customers with 101 banking service centers. The majority of these centers are located in Kansas, Missouri, and Colorado. In the first quarter of 2013, the company reported net income of approximately $2.1 billion, down from $3 billion in the last quarter of 2012. The company has $5.2 billion in net assets and deposits of $2.4 billion. National Bank Holdings Corp (NYSE:NBHC) declared a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per common share.

National Bank Holdings Corp (NYSE:NBHC) announced that it is increasing its dividend from $0.83 a share to $0.87 a share. National Bank is also focused on commercial lending, with total outstanding loans of $490 million, representing 67% of the total loans. With such large exposure to the US commercial lending sector, the bank will poised to benefit from the surge in the US commercial lending.

The US is witnessing double-digit growth in commercial and industrial loans. Besides, the lending standards for commercial and industrial lending continue to ease. These relaxed standards will further help National Bank Holdings Corp (NYSE:NBHC) originated more loans.

Growing low-cost deposits

Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF) is one of the largest service providers of retail and commercial banking, mortgage and insurance products and services. After several years of losses, Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF) has now turned into profit in the first quarter of 2013. In 2008, the company reported net losses as high as $5.5 billion. However, since the beginning of the year, the stock price has appreciated 18%.

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