Raymond James Stops In-Person Recruiting, Puts Some Advisor Moves on Hold

The executive added: “I am proud of the dedication and commitment of our associates and advisors as we execute on our business continuity plans to continue providing service to clients.” 

Net loans at Raymond James Bank were $21.5 billion in February, a 1% increase from January and a 7% jump from February 2019.

“As a result of rapid and widespread economic deterioration, we expect the entire banking industry to experience substantial increases in bank loan loss provisions. We will be appropriately proactive in adding to allowance for loan losses, similar to our approach during the previous financial crisis,” Reilly said in a statement.

Its domestic cash sweep balances were some $39 billion in February, up 2% from January. “Due to the surge in market volatility since the beginning of March, cash sweep balances have increased significantly to over $48 billion as of March 20,” the firm said, noting that spreads earned on its cash balances have been hurt by the two recent emergency rate cuts. 

Buybacks Suspended

The firm also said it repurchased about 2.5 million shares for roughly $202 million from the beginning of the quarter through March 11. As of March 20, $537 million remained available under its repurchase authorization. “We temporarily suspended share buybacks as we assess capital needs and market liquidity,” said Reilly.

As of March 20, Raymond James has some $1.4 billion of cash and a $500 million revolving credit facility, “which we could access to provide additional flexibility,” he added.