Financial stocks were steady pre-bell Monday with the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) marginally higher recently.

The Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) was 0.6% higher and its bearish counterpart Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ) was down 0.7%.

Northern Trust (NTRS) shares were down 0.9% pre-bell Monday after it said late Sunday it signed a three-year memorandum of understanding with the National University of Singapore to collaborate on green finance and to promote the adoption of green finance frameworks and blockchain technology.

Capital One Financial (COF) in a regulatory filing said Monday its credit card delinquency rate stood 4.57% in November, while its net charge-off rate was 6.08%. The company's shares were down 1.1%.

BlackRock's (BLK) proposed acquisition of Preqin is being looked into by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority, the regulator said Friday, as it launched the first phase of an inquiry into the potential transaction. BlackRock shares were up 0.4%.