Marshall & Ilsley Corporation (NYSE:MI) announced a series of unusual events that will impact its earnings for the most recent quarter and year end. The diversified financial services company revealed a very strong capital position from a spin off amid write downs from the mortgage crisis. So, what does all of this mean in the end?

M&I announced on November 1st that it completed its spin off of Metavante Technologies, which resulted in a one-time $526 million gain and $1.665 billion in cash from the separation. The company plans on using these funds to retire approximately $1 billion worth of bonds in order to lower its borrowing costs over the next three years.

M&I also announced a $195 million write off in its loan portfolios stemming from the bank's reassessment in light of the deteriorating real estate market. The firm's loan loss provision, covering bad loans, could grow to $235 million which is up from $18.3 million in the fourth quarter of last year. Luckily, the firm remains well capitalized after the sale of its technology arm.

"Despite these challenging market conditions, we are fortunate to have one of the strongest capital positions in the industry," said Mark Furlong, president and CEO, Marshall & Ilsley Corporation. "We believe we are well positioned to weather the downturn in the real estate market."

In the end, M&I remains in good shape despite some rather large mortgage-related losses. Whether or not the bank will fully recover remains to be seen, but this is definitely a stock that it worth watching over the next few months!

Related Companies
Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB)
Synovus Financial Corp (SNV)
Wells Fargo & Company (WFC)