Oppenheimer Comments On TCF Financial Corporation Following Management Meeting

Oppenheimer's initial thoughts after meeting with senior management of TCF Financial

were that the company moved quickly and aggressively in dealing with the challenges to their banking model, but there remains a relatively higher degree of uncertainty about the true earnings power of the company. Such unpredictability to earnings and to a lesser degree concerns over near-term credit trends support our Perform rating with the stock now at 10.7x Oppenheimer's new '12 estimate. Success with the lawsuit challenging the Durbin Amendment, higher interest rates and a resurgence in M&A activity in the banking sector would all be positives for the stock. Oppenheimer is taking a more conservative view on TCF's future net interest margin and fee income trends and are reducing our estimates. Its 4Q10 EPS estimate is now $0.03 lower at $0.23. FY11 and FY12 estimates are now $0.15 lower at $1.05 and $1.45, respectively. TCB is trading lower at $15.25