Webster Bank a takeover target?

Veteran banking analyst Richard Bove said at least 17 banks with more than $10 billion in assets, including Waterbury-based Webster Bank, each could emerge as possible takeover targets, Reuters reports.

Bove analyzed 62 banks and narrowed down his list of takeover targets based on three criteria:

-- selling at less than 10 pct of assets

-- reserves and common equity greater than 10 pct of assets

-- high level of liquidity, low non-performing assets

Other bank's on his list include Atlanta-based SunTrust Banks, Chicago-based MB Financial Inc, and  Capital One Financial  in Virginia.

Bove's research follows speculation by other analysts that Webster Bank could be a takeover target for First Niagara Financial, which recently bought New Haven-based NewAlliance Bank for $1.5 billion.

Mark Fitzgibbon, an analyst for the financial advisory firm Sandler O'Neill & Partners, told HBJ Today last month that First Niagara will likely look to acquire more banks in Connecticut or the Northeast, and that Waterbury-based Webster could be a target.

In a statement, Gerald Plush, Webster senior executive vice president and CFO said, "Our focus is on continuing to pursue our strategy to be the leading regional bank from Westchester County, New York to Boston."

Bove's mentions helped boost most of those banks' stocks on a day the broader markets were also in positive territory, The Associated Press reports.

Shares of Webster -- with about 180 branches in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New York -- gained 31 cents, or 2 percent, to $16.97 in midday trading.