PNC Signals Stable 2026 Outlook as Lending and Fee Businesses Expand

At the Royal Bank of Canada Global Financial Institutions Conference on Tuesday, PNC Financial Services Group PNC outlined the bank’s latest business trends, offering insight into commercial lending demand, client activity and the broader outlook for 2026.

One of the central topics addressed during the session was the trajectory of commercial and industrial (C&I) loan demand. PNC experienced solid growth in its C&I portfolio over the past year. The C&I loan portfolio grew 5% in 2025, reflecting broad-based borrowing activity from corporate clients. The commercial real estate portfolio, however, declined amid weakness in office properties, reflecting ongoing pressure in that segment. The company noted that the bank’s real estate lending pipeline has increased dramatically, reportedly rising by nearly 300%, suggesting a potential recovery in lending activity beginning in 2026.

Beyond traditional lending, treasury management has become one of PNC’s most important sources of revenue. In 2025, it generated more than $4 billion, which accounted for nearly 37.6% of total revenues. Continued investment in payments infrastructure and corporate cash-management platforms is helping to deepen client relationships while strengthening recurring fee income streams.

PNC has been expanding its capital markets capabilities to strengthen its integrated corporate banking platform. The company expects advisory and investment banking services to grow at mid- to high-single-digit rates in 2026 as corporate clients seek broader financing and risk-management solutions.

Beyond these initiatives, PNC Financial is also focusing on geographic expansion to support long-term growth. Management expects roughly 40% of the company’s growth over the next five years to come from markets where its presence is still developing, particularly across Texas and the Southwestern regions. It already added nearly 700 new corporate clients in 2025, while lead relationships and syndicated facilities increased nearly 150% in these markets. PNC is further strengthening its presence through acquisitions and branch expansion initiatives. The January 2026 acquisition of FirstBank expanded its footprint in Colorado and Arizona, while its broader $2 billion branch expansion plan is expected to deepen client relationships and expand market share in high-growth regions.

Taken together, these initiatives position PNC for steady financial performance in 2026. Reflecting these trends, the bank expects average loans to grow nearly 8% from the 2025 baseline of $323.4 billion. Further, net interest income is projected to rise about 14% from $14 billion, while non-interest income is expected to increase nearly 6% from $8.7 billion, driving its total revenues up about 11% from $23.1 billion in 2025.

Key Highlights From Other Banks at the RBC Conference 2026

M&T Bank MTB also highlighted strong performance at the RBC Capital Markets Global Financial Institutions Conference. M&T Bank delivered record profits in 2025, supported largely by higher fee income from capital markets activities and off-balance-sheet commercial real estate services. The company emphasized continued focus on core banking fundamentals such as credit quality, depositor behavior and fraud prevention while monitoring emerging risks from digital assets and non-bank competitors.

At the same conference, Citizens Financial Group CFG outlined its strategy to improve profitability and returns over the next few years. Citizens Financial Group is targeting a return on tangible common equity of 16%-18% by the second half of 2027, compared with just more than 12% in the fourth quarter. The company’s growth is expected to be supported by initiatives across consumer banking, private wealth management, and commercial banking. Citizens Financial Group is also investing in technology and strategic initiatives such as its “Reimagine the Bank” program, which is expected to contribute about $450 million in net income by 2028.

PNC Financial’s Price Performance & Zacks Rank

Over the past six months, PNC's shares have rallied 2.2% against the 2.5% decline of the industry.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

At present, the company carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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