PNC Financial corp's ProvidentNational Bank subsidiary said it is increasing the weighting of
bonds in its investment portfolio due to the recent softening
in the fixed-income markets.
    The bank said it is shifting the debt to equity mix of its
balanced portfolios to 45 pct bonds/55 pct stocks from 40/60
and reducing the equity segment's cash reserve to 25 pct from
30 pct.  It said "Based on the continued high valuation level
of the stock market, coupled with the recent temporary weakness
in bond prices, the relative attractiveness of the bond market
is now at its highest level in over 18 months."
 Reuter
