Banks that went public on Thursday had muted debuts even after pricing offerings below their planned range, an indication that investors are still keeping clear of new financial offerings. The larger of the two banks, Capital Bank Financial Corp that was started by former Bank of America Corp executives in the aftermath of the financial crisis, opened flat but rose 2 percent to $18.40 late morning on the Nasdaq.
Capital Bank had downsized its IPO to 10 million shares, selling each share at $18, below its expected range of between $21 and $23 per share. National Bank Holdings Corp, led by a former executive of Bank of America and Regions Financial Corp, opened up 5 percent, but pared early gains to trade up 3 percent at $19.78 on the New York Stock Exchange. The bank sold 7.15 million Class A shares for $19.25 each in the IPO, below its expected range of between $20 and $22 per share.
This year has seen fewer financial IPOs so far compared with the same period last year, with 16 companies raising $4.2 billion on US exchanges, according to market intelligence firm Ipreo. In comparison, 19 financial companies had raised $5.2 billion by this time last year. Capital Bank Financial and National Bank Holdings were among several entities to raise funds after the financial crisis of 2008, as investors bet they could buy banks on the cheap and take them public or sell them later at a profit.
Three other companies debuted on Thursday, with online real estate listing service Trulia Inc surging almost 40 percent and retail fuel distributor Susser Petroleum Partners LP gaining 12 percent by late morning on the New York Stock Exchange. Commercial real estate investing company Spirit Realty Capital Inc was trading up about 2 percent.