These Regional Bank Stocks Plummet Amid Contagion Fears

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Stock prices at a group of big regional banks tumbled Thursday as shares of PacWest Bancorp fell more than 40%, as fears of system-wide banking contagion persist after three bank failures in less than two months, including the second biggest collapse in U.S. history.

Western Alliance Bank stock prices plunged Thursday, as banking turmoil continues following three … [+] bank failures over the past two months.

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Key Facts

The stock price of Phoenix-based Western Alliance Bancorporation fell by more than a third as of 3:30 p.m. Thursday, dropping more than 35% to $19.07, its lowest point since December 2013.

Memphis-based First Horizon Corp also saw a massive drop in its stock price Thursday, falling more than 32% to a near-three-year low of $10.12, after the bank announced it had mutually agreed to terminate a planned merger with TD Bank.

Shares of East West Bancorp decreased by 7.2% to $41.85 as of Thursday afternoon, a two-year low for the Pasadena, California, bank.

Comerica stocks are down nearly 13% on the day, dropping to a three-year low of $31.22, while the stock price of Citizens Financial Group, the parent company of Citizens Bank, is down more than 5%, to $24.89, another three-year low.

Shares of Truist Financial Corp have fallen by more than 6% to $26.42, its lowest since December 2011, while the stock prices of both UMB Financial Corp and PNC Financial Services Group have dropped nearly 2%, to $54.76 and $114.00, respectively.

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49.69%. That’s how far PacWest’s share price has dropped Thursday, reaching $3.23, following reports late Wednesday the Los Angeles-based bank was considering a sale. PacWest said Thursday morning its deposits have increased over the past month and it “has not experienced out-of-the-ordinary deposit flows” in recent days, adding it has been approached by “several” potential investors and partners.

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The nation’s largest commercial banks also faced falling share prices on Thursday, with JPMorgan Chase dropping 1.26% to $134.26, Bank of America 2.57% (to $27.14), Citigroup 1.65% (to $44.92) and Wells Fargo 4.58% (to $36.88).

Key Background

PacWest’s sudden drop in its stock price Wednesday sparked concerns the regional bank could become the latest to collapse, following the abrupt failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in March, and First Republic Bank’s failure and sale to JPMorgan Chase over the weekend after a massive bank run and market selloff. The failure of Silicon Valley Bank has been linked to poor risk management, a social media-driven bank run among its tech-heavy customers and the Federal Reserve’s push to tame inflation by hiking interest rates, which eroded the value of Treasuries and other long-term assets held by banks like SVB. PacWest’s stock price was hit hard by the high-profile failures of SVB and Signature Bank, dropping from $26.68 to $9.75 over a three-day period in March.

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