New Tower to be Erected by PNC

PNC Financial Services Group has announced its plans to build the “world’s greenest skyscraper” in downtown Pittsburgh.

PNC Chairman and CEO James Rohr says the $400 million tower is slated for completion by the end of 2015. Rohr says the final product will be an 800,000-square-foot addition to Pittsburgh’s skyline, which will serve as the bank’s new headquarters.

Rohr says the 40-story tower will also exceed the requirements for the U.S. Green Building Council’s highest possible rating.

“What we’re doing right now is we’re going around, looking at all of the various platinum-green buildings and identifying the criteria that were used in order for them to win that certification,” says Rohr. “And then we’re going to adopt each one of the best practices and build them into our building, along with some new ideas. So it’s an evolution of platinum green.”


PNC will occupy all of the Wood Street structure with about 3,000 of its employees, except for some retail space at the base of the tower. At about 40 stories, it will be almost two-thirds the height of the U.S. Steel Tower.

Rohr says nine buildings will need to be torn down before the structure is raised. He says that process will begin late this year, and the construction will employ about 2500 people over the next four years.

Free PNC Programs Help Retain Tax Refunds

Pittsburgh-based bank PNC is offering two free programs to help low-income taxpayers access their tax return money this year.

PNC says people without a bank account can opt for either a tax refund debit card or free refund check cashing when they use one of eight local Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) programs in the area. Neither requires the creation of a PNC account and both are free of charge.

PNC Community Development Program Manager John Florio says the programs are meant to help people avoid “high-fee financial services” at tax return time.

“They’re legitimate businesses, but because of their proximity, because of the way they do business, they tend to charge higher fees,” says Florio. “The ones that we’re talking about are the check-cashers and the payday lenders.”

Florio says these businesses usually charge 3-5% fees to people cashing their refund checks, often resulting in a loss of $50 and more from the total refund.

He says the VITA programs in the region are run by United Way and its partners to help people file for tax refunds, and help them avoid fees once the refund checks come back to them.

Florio says for low-income families, it’s often better to use VITA services than a tax preparer.

PNC Expands in Florida

Pittsburgh based PNC Bank has struck a deal with BankAtlantic Bancorp, Inc. to purchase BankAtlantic’s Tampa – St. Petersburg franchise. That includes 19 branches, two other facilities and the associated deposits of approximately $350 million. BankAtlantic put the properties on the block in 2010 as it looked concentrate its efforts in South Florida.

BankAtlantic says PNC has agreed to pay a premium for the deposits assumed in the transaction plus the net book value of the acquired real estate and fixed assets associated with the branches and facilities.

The deal is expected to be finalized some time in June. It must first get regulatory approval.

PNC Sees ‘Moderate and Stable’ Econ in 2011

After coming out of what he calls “frustratingly slow progress” in 2010, PNC economist Robert Dye says southwestern Pennsylvania’s economy will be “moderate and stable” in 2011. Dye says the slowdown in the summer now looks to have been a “soft patch” rather than the beginning of a double dip recession. He says the relatively good numbers seen in recent months should build momentum in 2011 with a little more growth, a slow drop in unemployment, and pickup of the housing market slack. However, Dye says, “it will not be a ‘snap back’ economy.”

Dye says the education and medical sectors will continue to lead the region’s economy and help to moderate bad economic news and he says the energy and banking sectors will also help to drive the economy. Dye says Marcellus Shale exploration and extraction will be a “game changer” going forward. He says as the world economy rebounds, demand for energy will grow and so will the value of the shale fields. He admits that there are still political hurdles to clear in Pennsylvania and in some municipalities but he says those will shrink as the potential for economic impact from Marcellus Shale drilling grows.

Dye believes southwestern Pennsylvania’s financial sector will benefit from the region’s better than average growth in 2011. “Being able to provide services to this wide variety of medical and educational, high-tech energy resources, and the growing service sector at large, is providing many opportunities or companies,” says Dye. Dye also feels companies in the region working with nuclear power will see growth in the long term. “We have a missing generation of nuclear power plants,” says Dye, and as the world gets more comfortable with the idea of nuclear power demand will start to grow.

Commodities, Performers and Birds Drive Christmas Price Index

The national economy may have been sluggish in 2010 but the Christmas Price Index, produced every year by PNC, surged 9.2%. The index looks at the price of the items mentioned in the song ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas.’

The price tag for the gifts comes in this year at $23,439. That is $1,974 more than last year. PNC Wealth Management managing executive Jim Dunigan says it was the second highest jump ever. Usually the rate of increase is very close to the National Consumer Price Index, which grew just 1.1 percent over the year. Dunigan says there is precedence for the jump. He says over the 27-year history of the index you seen times when the nation is just coming out of a recession and the Christmas Price Index jumps back faster than the Consumer Price Index. In 2003 the index rose more than 15 percent. “So I think coming out of a recession you start to see different baskets of goods, certainly the Christmas Price Index is a unique basket, that may in fact have larger increases,” Says Dunigan.

The Christmas Price Index inched up a modest 1.8% in 2009.

“This year’s jump in the PNC CPI can be attributed to rising gold commodity prices, represented by the Five Gold Rings which went up by 30 percent, in addition to higher costs for wages and benefits impacting some entertainers,” says Dunigan. Among the 12 gifts in the PNC CPI, only four items (Pear Tree, Four Calling Birds, Six Geese a–Laying and the Eight Maids-a-Milking) were the same price from last year.
The 11 Pipers Piping and 12 Drummers Drumming saw modest increases of 3.1%. The biggest dollar increase this year was for the Nine Ladies Dancing, up $820, (up 15%)

The “True Cost of Christmas,” which is the total cost of items as they are repeated, is also calculated annually. If your True Love went that route, he or she would be facing a $96,824 bill. That is a 10.8% increase compared to last year.

PNC also looks at the price of gathering the gifts on-line. The Internet cost this year went up 9.2% and was $11,000 more than this year’s traditional index. “In general, Internet prices are higher than their non-Internet counterparts because of shipping costs for birds and the convenience factor of shopping online,” says Dunigan.

All of the data and a graphic presentation can be found online. Lesson plans for teachers and projects to do at home can also be found on the site.

PNC Earnings Up

PNC Financial Services Group is reporting third quarter income of $1.1 billion. That works out to $2.07 per diluted common share. The numbers come on a net income of $803 million. The company earned net income of $2.6 billion, or $4.24 per diluted common share, for the first nine months of 2010 compared with $1.3 billion for the first nine months of 2009. In a written statement PNC CEO James Rohr says the bank did well in a “challenging operating environment.” Rohr says, “Our disciplined focus on execution resulted in improved credit quality, record capital levels and an overall higher quality balance sheet." “While the outlook for the economy remains uncertain, I am confident that our business model will continue to deliver differentiated results," says Rohr. PNC continued its effort to move to a more “moderate risk profile” and Rohr says that helped the company’s bottom line.

PNC Ups Earnings, Finishes Nat'l City Switch

Pittsburgh-based PNC Financial Services Group announced solid financial results for the second quarter of the year today.

“We produced second quarter earnings of $803 million, or $1.47 per diluted common share. That’s a 20% increase in net income on a late-quarter basis,” says PNC Chairman and CEO James Rohr. “For the first half of the year, our net income of $1.5 billion was double that of the same period in 2009.”

Rohr says recently passed financial reform legislation will introduce hundreds of changes to the banking industry, and PNC is studying how those will affect the company.

“One thing is clear: the reform bill will impact revenue and increase the cost of doing business,” says Rohr. “However, we believe the expected changes will be manageable for PNC and will have a smaller impact on us than the Wall Street banks.”

Rohr says his bank also finished the final wave of converting former National City banks to PNC branches ahead of schedule and under budget. Six million retail and business clients switched to PNC in the conversion.

Artifacts Found Downtown

The New PNC building in downtown Pittsburgh holds bank offices, a bank branch, law offices a coffee house, a hotel and the city’s newest display of artifacts. It all began a few years ago when PNC announced plans to tear down a block full of buildings to make way for its newest skyscraper. Architect and urban archeologist Christine Davis says her interest was piqued because she knew there had to be some interesting artifacts buried under the site. She says it was not difficult to sell PNC on the idea of letting her dig around while construction was underway. Her hunch was right.

In all 25,000 artifacts from the 1840’s - 18 60’s were found and preserved. About 500 objects are now on display in the hotel that is part of the new PNC Building. All ten of the floors hosting hotel rooms have a few items on display, each suit features a select object and several artifacts are on display in the hotel’s lobby and on the second floor in the hallway between the restaurant and the business center. Davis says they found a slew of ties between the old use of the land and the current building. In the 1860’s the street held several banks, which she equates to PNC’s operation, a boarding house which Davis ties to the hotel, a tea room that she compares to the coffee house and a botanical and seed store run by the nephew of the founder of the law firm that now has several floors of offices in the building. Jeremiah Knox owned and operated that seed store. Davis ties many of the artifacts to that store. Including seeds that survived the last 150 years 22 feet below street She also found something called a Lithopnane. At first the tiles look like small white relief carvings with few details but when the light is shined through them they take on a whole new look filled with details like a black and white photograph.
Like many of the objects the lithopanes were found in an old well. Also down the well were a few bottles embossed with the name “Doctor Warner’s, Indian Physician Syrup.” Davis tracked the Indian Physician of the 1860’s to doctor Robert H. Warner who is an ob-gyn in Mt Lebanon. Robert Warner says every generation that came after Elisha has included a doctor. The family still has old journals kept by the so-called “Indian Physician” but Robert Warner says they have never seen any of bottles like the one found during this dig. Davis was able to find an old advertisement for the syrup.
Some of the more fragile objects are being preserved by PNC in their archives. PNC’s Gary Saulson says the hotel has jumped on board beyond designating space for the artifacts and a printed guide to a cell phone tour can be picked up at the front desk.

Pictures of more items on display Facebook page.

Listen to a longer version of this story aired on 90.5FM WDUQ.

PNC: Pittsburgh’s Economy on the Rise in 2010

Pittsburgh based PNC Chief Economist Stewart Hoffman says the economy in the Pittsburgh region, “will turn the corner from severe recession to economic recovery” in 2010. He notes that although the region did suffer the “slings and arrows” of the national downturn it was not as bad in Southwestern PA as it was nationwide. He predicts that by the end of the year the region will have shed about 25,000 jobs. As Hoffman looks forward to 2010, he says job growth will return to the region by the spring and to the nation as a whole some time in the first half of 2010. Unemployment will be a bit “sticky” according to Hoffman, ending the year in Pittsburgh around 8% and 9.5% nationally. He says he does not fear a “jobless recovery” but he knows the jobs will not bounce back fast enough to please some in Washington. Hoffman says the Pittsburgh housing market has seen its trough and homes will begin to pick up value in 2010. He notes that several markets in the South and the Midwest will continue to see values decline. He says, “Pittsburgh has a good mix of buyers and sellers where it will still be a buyers market in other parts of the country.” Hoffman says he is not worried about inflation in 2010 and he feels household incomes in the region will rise faster than the rate of inflation in the region. He predicts an inflation rate around 2.5% and an increase in household incomes between 3% and 4%. Among the issues that Hoffman says could kill the recovery; Rising oil prices, a lack of job creation in the private sector and poor decisions by state and local governments.

National City Closes Friday

All National City Bank branches in southwestern PA will close at 4:00pm Friday and reopen at 8:00 Monday morning as PNC branches. Pittsburgh-based PNC purchased Cleveland-based National City more than a year ago and has been working on the transition ever since. PNC Market manager Jim Balouris says all National City customers were sent several letters over the summer, and branch workers have been warning them that the change was coming.

Last week National City customers were sent new check cards, and Balouris says they will have to be activated over the weekend either through an 800- number or at a PNC ATM. The National City web pages will be taken down Friday afternoon, and customers will have no online access until Monday. Balouris says anyone who needs access to his or her accounts can do so at any PNC branch. As part of the buyout, PNC acquired all of National City’s routing numbers so old National City checks will continue to work and any direct deposits or withdrawals will go through without any problems.

Balouris says a few National City customers had to be issued new account numbers. “There were a few duplicate account numbers", says Balouris. He says no employees were allowed to take vacation this week or next week. A small percentage of National City branches and their customers were sold to First Niagara. Those transitions have already taken place.

PNC Reports $4 Billion Revenue in Q3

Pittsburgh Based PNC Financial Services Group reported net income of $559 million in the third quarter of this year, which amounts to $1.00 per diluted common share. That compares to 70 cents in the same period last year. The number smashed analysts’ expectations. For the first nine months of 2009, the company earned net income of $1.30 billion, or $2.17 per diluted common share. The fifth largest bank by deposits reports continued good results from the acquisition of National City and CEO Jim Rohr says he expects to see further growth I those new markets. The required divestiture of 61 branches including $4.1 billion of deposits and $.8 billion of loans was completed September 4, 2009. PNC Stock rose at the opening bell. PNC will rebrand its mortgage loan division later this year and Rohr says the company hopes to see gains in the residential mortgage business. The company had to set aside nearly a billion dollars in the quarter to cover bad loans. PNC has posted profits in all but one quarter since the economic slowdown and Rohr is quick to point out that loss was due primarily to the acquisition of National City.

Also this morning Indiana PA based First Commonwealth reported a third quarter net loss of $3.0 million, or $.04 per diluted share compared to net income of $10.2 million, or $0.14 per diluted share in the third quarter of 2008. The decrease comes as a result of a $17.5 million increase in the provision for credit losses.

Monroeville based Parkvale Financial Corporation also reported it third Quarter numbers today. The company says it generated net income for the $855,000 or $0.08 per diluted common share. That is well below the $1.1 million or $0.20 per diluted share for the quarter ended September 30, 2008. The $250,000 decrease in net income reflects a decrease in net interest income by $1.6 million, an increase in the provision for loan losses by $1.3 million and higher FDIC insurance premiums of $507,000.
Those were partially offset by lower net writedowns on investment securities by $2.3 million and related tax benefits of $1.0 million.

Hill District S & L Shut Down

A Pittsburgh Savings and Loan has been shut down by the federal government because of stability concerns. The 119 year old Dwelling House Savings and Loan ran into financial trouble after cyber thieves syphoned $3 million of the S & L's reserves through electronic transfers.
On June 30, Dwelling House President John Haines announced that he had submitted a capitalization plan to meet the deadline imposed by federal bank regulators. At that time, Haines said they had made progress in recovering some of the money from other financial institutions that unwittingly processed the fraudulent transfers. Haines refused to disclose details of the plan until F.D.I.C. officials respond to it..."What we can say at this point is that we are confident we have a way forward that will meet expectations of federal regulators in terms of recapitalization and recovery from a terrible criminal act."

However, in shutting down Dwelling House yesterday, the Office of Thrift Supervision said the S & L was "critically undercapitalized and had no reasonable prospect of recovering."
So, PNC will take over all of Dwelling House's deposits and about $3 million in assets. The remainder will be kept by the FDIC. The Dwelling House office on Centre Avenue will reopen Monday as a branch of PNC.

PNC Starts Slow Move to New Building

PNC is ready to open the first portion of its new 23-floor $200 million building downtown. Starting Monday, customers will be able to use the new “flagship” bank branch on the fifth avenue side of the still being completed building. Eventually the structure will host PNC corporate offices, Reed Smith law firm offices, 28 condominiums, and a hotel. PNC Director of Corporate Real Estate Gary Saulson says all of those tenants will strive for different LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System) certification that fit their specific industry or use. Bank branch employees will even be asked to be more environmentally conscious by making small personal changes such as drinking out of reusable mugs rather than disposal Styrofoam cups. Reed Smith will move in at the end of August while PNC plans to move over operations in the first quarter of 2010. Saulson says the company will immediately expand to fill the vacant space I its current buildings. The 185-room hotel will open by January and the park at the corner of 5th and Liberty will open before the G20 summit in September. Saulson says even the park will be environmentally friendly by using native plants and environmentally friendly benches and lighting. The condos are being sold and finished with the expectation that all the work will be done in the next 12 months. A “local” coffee house will take up the rest of the ground floor retail space. Saulson says he feels the building has served as a catalyst for other development downtown including the Piatt Place development, the new YMCA and the retail and residential work on Market Street.

PNC Meets Stress Test Demands

Pittsburgh based PNC Financial Services says it has met the demands of the US Treasury Department following its so-called “stress test.” PNC was asked to raise $600 million in common equity. PNC CEO James Rohr says, "I am pleased that were we able to raise the required $600 million… at market prices and in a relatively short time frame." The Treasury Dept. had given PNC and other financial institutions 6 months to raise the equity. The company issued 15 million shares of common stock through an "at the market" offering. PNC launched that offering May 14. Rohr says, “PNC expects to continue to increase its common equity as a proportion of total capital through growth in retained earnings and will consider other capital opportunities as appropriate.” The company says it has no plans to convert $7.6 billion in preferred shares held by the U.S. Treasury Department into common stock.

PNC Cuts Dividend

PNC Financial Services says it will reduce the company's quarterly common stock dividend from 66 cents to just 10 cents per share as of its next dividend that is due out next month. PNC CEO Jim Rohr says "We are taking this proactive step to build capital, further strengthen our balance sheet and serve our customers in an unprecedented and uncertain economy." In an investor conference call Rohr went on to say, "While our overall capital and liquidity positions are strong, extreme market deterioration and the changing regulatory environment drove this difficult but prudent decision.” PNC is in the process of taking over National City and Rohr says that is going smoothly and is expected to help the company going forward. He says PNC's businesses are performing as expected in the first quarter with strong client growth. Sales are above expectations, and the company continues to increase share in its newly acquired markets. One goal of the dividend reduction is to help make credit available to customers. Rohr says the move should also, “…position PNC for full redemption of the U.S. Treasury Department's preferred stock investment as soon as appropriate.” The move is expected to save PNC about $1 billion a year.

PNC Announces Mortgage Foreclosure Moratorium

All new or pending mortgage foreclosures by PNC Financial Services and their subsidiary National City Mortgage will be put on hold until the federal government unveils its loan modification program. The exact date of this is yet to be determined; however, PNC projects that it will uphold the freeze until about March 13. PNC spokesman Pat McMahon says the moratorium is just one of several steps the bank has taken to help "distressed borrowers." Reduced rate options, extended payback terms and doubling their customer service staff are some of the other measures PNC has employed. McMahon says the bank wants to see as many customers as possible stay in their homes.

PNC to Cut 5,800 by 2011

PNC CEO Jim Rohr says he hopes most of the cuts will be made through attrition with very few layoffs. The job cuts represent about 10% of the new company’s 59,595 person workforce and Rohr says the company usually sees about 15% attrition. National City had announced 4,000 job cuts in the 3rd quarter of last year and those are included in the 5,800 number. Rohr says about 500 of the new cuts will be made as branches are consolidated. The consolidation move comes as PNC completes it acquisition of National City. The markets served by the two banks overlap mostly in western Pennsylvania and Southwestern Ohio. The job cuts were announced at the same time that PNC announced its fourth quarter results. PNC lost $248 million, which included $380 million in losses connected to acquisition of the troubled National City. The 77-cents per share loss compares to a 52 cent per share profit in the same quarter last year. Rohr says in spite of the troubled economic times he thinks management of the newly merged back will be able to find new savings, cut bad debt and reduce risk to build a stronger company.

Shareholders Vote to Merge PNC and National City

Shareholders for Pittsburgh based PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. and National City Bank out of Cleveland, voted in favor of PNC's purchase of National City for $5.6 billion. PNC is the first bank to take advantage of the government's $700 billion bailout program to make an acquisition. It is buying National City for $2.23 a share-- an amount that has drawn criticism from some Ohio lawmakers as being below market value. The deal also allows PNC to take advantage of $725 million in tax breaks. The merger will make PNC the fifth largest deposit holder in the country and PNC Chairman James Rohr says the bank be will be the number one market-share holder in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Kentucky.