Eastern Bankshares Inc (EBC)

[LordDarley]

It's almost a month since the IPO. The largest mutual bank in the US (and the oldest) surprised Massachustts residents with the decision to go public. The decision made sense. With the $1.8B raised, it can now make more acquisitions and improve its technology.

Depositors have already done well. Each depositor was allowed to subscribe in August for up to 200,000 shares @ $10 each. There was such enthusiasm, the stock opened at $12, and is a bit higher now. Because it's not followed by analysts and is not yet in indices, it's trading at only 75-80% of tangible book.

The environment for banks is not exciting right now, and this is NOT a recommendation. It just seems like a nice stock to consider for the banking part of a balanced portfolio, rather than money center banks.