PNC Financial Raises $600M Through Stock Offer

PITTSBURGH (AP) — PNC Financial Services Group Inc. said Wednesday it raised more than $600 million in cash through a sale of 15 million shares of common stock.

PNC sold shares throughout a nearly two-week period known as an "at the market" offering, where shares are sold in batches at market prices instead of all at once at one share price, like a typical offer.

The new cash will help bolster PNC's capital base after the government determined earlier in the month the Pittsburgh-based bank needed $600 million in additional cash to protect itself in case the economy worsened further.

PNC was one of 19 banks the government reviewed to determine if worsening economic conditions would lead to a capital shortfall. Some of the banks, such as PNC, that were deemed to need more capital have been raising the extra cash through stock sales in recent weeks.

The bank said it will also repay the $7.6 billion government loan it received last fall as part of the Treasury Department's program to help improve the nearly stagnant credit markets. Hundreds of banks received loans under the program and many are now planning or completing the repayment of those loans.

Banking regulators must approve any loan repayment plans before they can be completed.