Banks' books, balance sheets finally start revealing some truths

Investors looking at the assets on a bank's balance sheet simply want a good estimate of how much they are worth. It's not easy getting a straight answer.

Consider Wednesday's disclosures by Regions Financial Corp in the annual report it filed with securities regulators. For purposes of its balance sheet, Regions said it finished last year with $94.9 billion of loans that it was holding as investments. In a footnote, however, it said the "fair value" of those same loans was $79.9 billion, or $15 billion less.

It's a similar story at Huntington Bancshares Inc. The balance-sheet value for its loan portfolio was $40.2 billion as of Dec 31. Yet Huntington said the fair value of those loans was $33.9 billion. The bank's annual report said the lower figure "reflected discounts that Huntington believed are consistent with transactions occurring in the market place."