We recently compiled a list of the 10 Best Local Bank Stocks to Buy. In this article, we are going to take a look at where KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) stands against the other best local bank stocks.

A report by PwC predicts a revival in the US banking industry due to a pro-business policy expected from the Republican government. Key drivers for growth will be an increase in the demand for loans, steady securities business, and a lower benchmark rate. The estimated growth in net income from the overall banking sector is around 5.7%.

Deloitte predicts better economic growth in the US compared to 2024. Technology adoption can be a key driver for boosting output through efficiency in labor productivity. The CPI should also hover closer to the 2% market, prompting the central bank to lower interest rates. While lower lending costs may boost loan demand, a sticky deposit rate can hurt interest margins for banks. Deposit costs are expected to be at an elevated level of 2.03%, far above the 5-year average of 0.9%. This may create a pricing war between banks to procure more low-cost funds.

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In 2024, the fee-based income for banks was driven by capital market activities. The trend is expected to continue as asset prices increase.  Non-interest income as a percentage of average assets should reach a level of 1.5%, a figure that has not been breached in the last five years.  The expense ratio for banks increased by 200 bps in 2024 to reach 60%. The ratio should hover around this level in the next few years. Credit quality may suffer marginally due to a growing loan book with delinquency rates expected to rise for credit card, auto, and commercial real estate loans. Larger banks with a diversified business are expected to perform better but regional banks have been strategically shuffling their book to obtain a more favorable product mix.

Regional Bank ETFs have generated returns of 5.82%, 11.25,% and 25.33% for 1-month, 6-month and 1-year tenors. The underlying banks have demonstrated resilience in a challenging business environment without affecting their capital adequacy and credit quality.

Our Methodology

For this article, we scanned through various credible sources and identified their consensus picks of local bank stocks from their recent articles. Next, we sorted these companies based on the number of hedge funds in Insider Monkey's database that owned stakes in these companies. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).

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KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY)

Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 41

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY), through its two segments, Consumer Bank and Commercial Bank offers retail and commercial banking products and services in the US. In the latest development, KEY opened a new branch in New Port Chester. It has also financed a couple of affordable housing projects in Ohio.

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) reported an EPS loss of $0.28 in Q4 but has an adjusted EPS of $0.38. It is one of the fastest-growing local banks with a y-o-y revenue growth of 16%. The outlook for 2025 looks extremely positive with a projected increase in net interest income by 20% while the expenses are set to rise by 3-5%. The high-growth rate in 2024 did not deteriorate the credit quality with net charge-offs lower by $40 million compared to the previous quarter. With a strong capital base, KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) expects commercial loan disbursement to rise by 2-4% in 2025, with further investments in wealth management, investment banking, and technology.

Overall KEY ranks 8th on our list of the best local bank stocks to buy. While we acknowledge the potential of KEY as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than KEY but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and Complete List of 59 AI Companies Under $2 Billion in Market Cap.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.