Cullen/Frost Bankers is moving its primary stock listings from the New York Stock Exchange to the Texas Stock Exchange. Trading is set to begin on November 12.
The transfer covers both the company’s common stock (CFR) and its depositary shares (CFR.PrB). Both will stop trading on the NYSE at the close on November 11 and open on TXSE the next morning under the same symbols. Shareholders do not need to do anything.
Cullen/Frost is the parent of Frost Bank, the San Antonio institution founded in 1868. At about $9.8 billion in market capitalisation it is one of the larger Texas-headquartered banks to make the switch so far.
Chairman and CEO Phil Green said the company has “played a key role in supporting the growth of the Texas economy” since 1868 and that moving the listing to TXSE “helps reinforce Cullen/Frost’s position as the preeminent Texas-based financial institution.”
TXSE chairman and CEO James H. Lee called the decision evidence that “America’s economic center of gravity is shifting to Texas.” He noted that Cullen/Frost is the largest Texas-headquartered bank to list with the exchange and that a strong Texas-based venue “strengthens the flow of capital and the growth of financial-sector jobs across our state.”
Why more Texas banks are leaving the NYSE for TXSE
The move fits a pattern that has been building since TXSE began production trading in July. Energy Transfer and its affiliates moved nearly $100 billion of listing value from the NYSE in early October. International Bancshares, Origin Bancorp and Texas Capital have also shifted primary listings home. Major index providers updated their methodologies earlier this year so that TXSE-listed securities are eligible for inclusion in the main U.S. benchmarks, removing one of the practical objections that previously made a Dallas primary listing harder to justify.
For most holders the practical change is small. The ticker stays the same, no action is required, and index eligibility is no longer a barrier. Liquidity in CFR has historically been adequate on the NYSE. Whether it remains so on a newer venue will only become clear after the switch. Cullen/Frost’s own rationale is geographic and franchise-related rather than a claim about superior trading economics.
What remains open is how many more Texas banks and energy companies follow the same path, and whether the cumulative listing value on TXSE reaches a level that starts to matter against the NYSE and Nasdaq. Cullen/Frost is a meaningful addition, but it is still one name. The larger test for the exchange continues to be whether it can attract a broader set of issuers, including those without deep Texas roots, once the initial wave of home-state transfers is complete.
Author: Andy Samu
See Also:
Why International Bancshares Is Moving Its Primary Listing to Texas | Disruption Banking
Andrew Samu
Andrew Samu, Editor-at-Large at Disruption Banking, shapes the publication’s global coverage of banking, capital markets and digital assets. Based at London’s Level39, he combines market analysis with a strong commercial perspective, informed in part by his role as Commercial Director at Verita HR.
