3 Reasons to Sell BANC and 1 Stock to Buy Instead

September 15, 2025 at 00:00 AM EDT

BANC Cover Image

Banc of California trades at $16.65 per share and has stayed right on track with the overall market, gaining 17.3% over the last six months. At the same time, the S&P 500 has returned 15.9%.

Is now the time to buy Banc of California, or should you be careful about including it in your portfolio? Get the full stock story straight from our expert analysts, it’s free.

Why Is Banc of California Not Exciting?

We don't have much confidence in Banc of California. Here are three reasons why BANC doesn't excite us and a stock we'd rather own.

1. Declining Net Interest Income Reflects Weakness

Our experience and research show the market cares primarily about a bank’s net interest income growth as one-time fees are considered a lower-quality and non-recurring revenue source.

Banc of California’s net interest income has declined by 1.3% annually over the last five years, much worse than the broader banking industry and in line with its total revenue.

Banc of California Trailing 12-Month Net Interest Income

2. Declining TBVPS Reflects Erosion of Asset Value

We consider tangible book value per share (TBVPS) the most important metric to track for banks. TBVPS represents the real, liquid net worth per share of a bank, excluding intangible assets that have debatable value upon liquidation.

Disappointingly for investors, Banc of California’s TBVPS declined at a 1.4% annual clip over the last two years.

Banc of California Quarterly Tangible Book Value per Share

3. Previous Growth Initiatives Have Lost Money

Return on equity, or ROE, tells us how much profit a company generates for each dollar of shareholder equity, a key funding source for banks. Over a long period, banks with high ROE tend to compound shareholder wealth faster through retained earnings, buybacks, and dividends.

Over the last five years, Banc of California has averaged an ROE of negative 4.6%, a bad result not only in absolute terms but also relative to the majority of banks putting up 15%+. It also shows that Banc of California has little to no competitive moat.

Final Judgment

Banc of California isn’t a terrible business, but it doesn’t pass our quality test. That said, the stock currently trades at 0.8× forward P/B (or $16.65 per share). This valuation is reasonable, but the company’s shakier fundamentals present too much downside risk. We're pretty confident there are more exciting stocks to buy at the moment. We’d suggest looking at one of our top digital advertising picks.

Stocks We Like More Than Banc of California

When Trump unveiled his aggressive tariff plan in April 2025, markets tanked as investors feared a full-blown trade war. But those who panicked and sold missed the subsequent rebound that’s already erased most losses.

Don’t let fear keep you from great opportunities and take a look at Top 5 Strong Momentum Stocks for this week. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 183% over the last five years (as of March 31st 2025).

Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,545% between March 2020 and March 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-small-cap company Comfort Systems (+782% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.

StockStory is growing and hiring equity analyst and marketing roles. Are you a 0 to 1 builder passionate about the markets and AI? See the open roles here.

About Us

About Cabling Installation & Maintenance

Contact Cabling Installation & Maintenance

Editorial

Advertising and Sponsorship Sales

Subscriptions and Memberships

Feedback/Problems