Bank Stocks Are Trading Like It’s the Pandemic. What’s Next.

Bank stocks have fallen to levels not seen since the pandemic, a scary signal. What happens next will be telling. 

The SPDR S&P Bank exchange-traded fund (ticker:

KBE

), which counts

New York Community Bancorp

(NYCB),

JPMorgan Chase

(JPM), and various others as top holdings, fell as much as 29% from its high for this year to its low point of about $35 in mid March. Since then, it has been flatlining, rather than rebounding, because what happens next for banks isn’t clear.