U.S. Commercial Bank Stocks Upgraded to ‘Overweight’ at UBS

By Sarah Jones

May 8 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. commercial bank stocks were upgraded at UBS AG to “overweight,” following the U.S. government’s review of the banking industry.

Analysts raised their recommendation for the nation’s commercial lenders from “underweight,” saying they were now “more confident in the strength of banks, especially commercial banks.”

UBS shifted its preference from U.S. diversified financials, downgrading the stocks to “equal-weight” from “overweight.”

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said results of the government’s review of the banking industry’s health “should provide considerable comfort.” The findings showed U.S. banks need to raise a total of $74.6 billion in capital.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sarah Jones in London at sjones35@bloomberg.net.