** Regional lender First Citizens Bancshares' FCNCA.O shares rise 3.7% to $2,153.73

** FCNCA sailed past Wall Street estimates for Q2 profit, helped by release of credit-loss provisions

** "It's a good quarter from First Citizens, with a large beat driven not just by a provision reversal but also by higher than expected core revenues," Piper Sandler analyst Stephen Scouten said

** Meanwhile, net interest income rose $35 million sequentially to $1.66 billion

** "The key debate here is net interest income - recall it peaked back in 2023 and declined almost (20)% since. 2Q shows some sequential growth," Truist analyst Brian Foran said

** "This is a heavily shorted name and at the moment the stock is getting a bit of a bounce on the hope that they are past the bottom"

** Up to last close, stock down 3.2% YTD