Raymond James Financial : reports November 2014 operating data

December 17, 2014

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - In an effort to provide timely information to investors about general trends in our major business segments, we are releasing selected operating data for November 2014. Due to the limited nature of this data, a consistent correlation to earnings should not be assumed.

Total securities commissions and fees of $268.2 million in November 2014 increased 5.9 percent over last November but declined 6.7 percent compared to October 2014. The decline in commissions during the month was primarily due to four fewer business days and lower market volatility relative to the preceding month.

Client assets under administration grew to $485.7 billion, a 10.2 percent increase over last year's November and a 1.1 percent increase over the preceding month, as the S&P 500 increased 2.5 percent during the month. Similarly, financial assets under management increased to $67.0 billion, up 13.2 percent and 1.5 percent compared to last year's November and the preceding month, respectively.

"The Capital Markets segment experienced a decline in both institutional equity and fixed income commissions, lower investment banking revenues, and a drop in trading profits compared to the preceding month," said CEO Paul Reilly. "Meanwhile, Capital Markets activity has remained reasonably strong through the first half of December, although we expect a seasonal slowdown during the year-end holidays."

Total net loans at Raymond James Bank of $11.3 billion grew 24.2 percent over last year's November and were essentially flat compared to the preceding month. Loan loss provisions are expected to increase over the preceding quarter, predominately due to loan growth.

"Based on an in-depth review of the Bank's petroleum related energy borrowers, the recent drop in oil prices is not currently expected to have a material adverse effect on the credit quality of this sector within the Bank's loan portfolio. A further sustained drop in oil prices could result in an increase in the provision for loan losses, although the Bank has a well-diversified loan portfolio with limited exposure to energy, particularly within the sub-sectors directly impacted by changes in commodity prices.

"Despite the challenging month for the Capital Markets segment in November, which was largely market-driven, our continued momentum in retaining and recruiting high-quality financial advisors should bode well for all of our businesses going forward," explained Reilly.