BUZZ-KeyCorp falls after reiterating 2025 interest income forecast

Shares of regional lender KeyCorp KEY.N fall 2.5% to $17.85 premarket

KEY reiterates its forecast for interest income to jump 20% this year from 2024 level of $3.81 bln

Wall Street expects KEY to post $4.58 bln in interest income this year, according to estimates compiled by LSEG

Stephens says management's 20% growth forecast in 2025 translates into interest income of $4.57 bln, which is below Street expectations of a 22% jump

Adds that 2025 NII outlook will likely pressure shares over the near term

Truist analyst Brian Foran says NII forecast came up a little short of expectations, driven by loan balances which still have not returned to growth

Meanwhile, KEY completed the repositioning of its securities portfolio in Q4, dumping roughly $3 bln of lower-yielding securities and reinvesting the proceeds into higher-yielding ones

KEY shares jumped 19% in 2024

(Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru)

((ArasuKannagi.Basil@thomsonreuters.com;))