Shares in two more US banks plunge as crisis fears spread

A Pacific Western Bank branch in Encino, California, US, on Saturday, April 22, 2023. PacWest Bancorp is scheduled to release earnings figures on April 25. Photographer: Morgan Lieberman/Bloomberg - Morgan Lieberman/Bloomberg

A Pacific Western Bank branch in Encino, California, US, on Saturday, April 22, 2023. PacWest Bancorp is scheduled to release earnings figures on April 25. Photographer: Morgan Lieberman/Bloomberg – Morgan Lieberman/Bloomberg

US regional banks have been wracked by fears of contagion as PacWest attempted to calm investors after its shares plunged as much as 60pc overnight.

The California-based lender confirmed today that it has been approached by several potential partners and investors about a deal. Talks are ongoing, it added.

PacWest insisted it has not experienced out-of-the-ordinary deposit flows following the failure and sale of First Republic Bank to JP Morgan Chase this week.

The anxiety over stability and the potential for contagion has hit shares of other regional banks before markets opened in the US.

Arizona-based Western Alliance fell by as much as 38pc in after-hours trading, while Zions Bancorp slumped more than 10pc.

Comerica fell 7pc and KeyCorp fell 5pc as investors remain concerned about the worst banking crisis since 2008.

Dennis Lockhart, the former Atlanta Fed President, said: “It looks like the markets are moving from one bank to the other and vulnerable deer in the herd are being kicked off.

“But I would like to believe that Jay Powell has information that suggests that the situation is contained or containable.”

A number of banks have been hit by the Federal Reserve’s 10 consecutive interest rate increases since last March in its fight against inflation.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised its key interest rate by a quarter-point to the highest level in 16 years as part of that campaign.

Chairman Jerome Powell said the Fed would monitor several factors, including the turmoil in the banking sector.

The Fed chair stressed his belief that the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and First Republic Bank in the past six weeks will likely cause other banks to tighten lending, and that would help the Fed in its inflation fight.

Meanwhile, Canadian lender Toronto-Dominion Bank Group has called off its deal to buy First Horizon for $13.4bn (£10.7bn), sending the US bank’s shares down 44.5pc in premarket trading.

TD and First Horizon mutually decided to end the deal because there was no clarity on when they would get regulatory approvals, the two banks said in a statement.US regional banks have been wracked by fears of contagion as PacWest attempted to calm investors after its shares plunged as much as 60pc overnight.

The California-based lender confirmed today that it has been approached by several potential partners and investors about a deal. Talks are ongoing, it added.

PacWest insisted it has not experienced out-of-the-ordinary deposit flows following the failure and sale of First Republic Bank to JP Morgan Chase this week.

The anxiety over stability and the potential for contagion has hit shares of other regional banks before markets opened in the US.

Arizona-based Western Alliance fell by as much as 38pc in after-hours trading, while Zions Bancorp slumped more than 10pc.

Comerica fell 7pc and KeyCorp fell 5pc as investors remain concerned about the worst banking crisis since 2008.

Dennis Lockhart, the former Atlanta Fed President, said: “It looks like the markets are moving from one bank to the other and vulnerable deer in the herd are being kicked off.

“But I would like to believe that Jay Powell has information that suggests that the situation is contained or containable.”

A number of banks have been hit by the Federal Reserve’s 10 consecutive interest rate increases since last March in its fight against inflation.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised its key interest rate by a quarter-point to the highest level in 16 years as part of that campaign.

Chairman Jerome Powell said the Fed would monitor several factors, including the turmoil in the banking sector.

The Fed chair stressed his belief that the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and First Republic Bank in the past six weeks will likely cause other banks to tighten lending, and that would help the Fed in its inflation fight.

Meanwhile, Canadian lender Toronto-Dominion Bank Group has called off its deal to buy First Horizon for $13.4bn (£10.7bn), sending the US bank’s shares down 44.5pc in premarket trading.

TD and First Horizon mutually decided to end the deal because there was no clarity on when they would get regulatory approvals, the two banks said in a statement.

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Source: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/shares-two-more-us-banks-131606919.html