Topline
Bank of America led a group of bank stocks hitting multi-year lows Friday, continuing the bloodbath on the group as the sector-wide turmoil causes bank stocks big and small to shed value at a remarkable rate.
It’s been a brutal month for bank stocks.
Key Facts
Shares of Bank of America, PNC and Citizens Financial each touched their lowest levels since November 2020 during Friday trading, while Wells Fargo stock hit its lowest price since February 2021, according to Forbes’ analysis of FactSet data.
Those stocks join at least 10 other U.S. bank stocks that hit multi-year bottoms over the last two weeks as the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank and messy fallout rocked the banking industry.
Hit hardest were shares of First Republic, PacWest, Western Alliance and Zions, as the four stocks hit all-time lows this month as investors worried the regional banks could be the next to bite the dust.
Charles Schwab, U.S. Bancorp, Truist, Comerica, KeyCorp, Fifth Third Bancorp all stumbled to their lowest respective share prices since 2020 during March trading.
All 14 of those stocks are down by at least 15% since March 8, the day before the industry-wide selloff began as Silicon Valley Bank’s liquidity issues rose to the forefront.
Big Number
$243 billion. That’s how much market value the 10 largest U.S. banks have lost since March 8.
Tangent
European bank stocks have similarly been walloped as investors responded to mayhem in the U.S. and UBS buying its Swiss peer Credit Suisse as the latter was on the brink. Europe-listed shares of UBS, Deutsche Bank, British banks HSBC and Barclays and French bank BNP Paribas are each down 15% or more during the stretch.
Crucial Quote
“Confidence is still fragile, volatility is likely to remain high, and policymakers may yet have to go further to ensure that faith in the global financial system stays solid,” UBS’ global chief investment officer Mark Haefele wrote in a Thursday note to clients. The current situation looks “unlikely to evolve into something akin to the 2008–09 meltdown,” Haefele said, citing stronger regulation on banks.
Further Reading
10 Numbers And Charts That Sum Up March’s Banking Fiasco (Forbes)
First Republic Shares Crater To All-Time Low As Bank Reportedly Taps JPMorgan To Explore Possible Sale (Forbes)
What’s Happening With Deutsche Bank As Shares Slide 7% (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2023/03/24/these-bank-stocks-hit-lows-some-even-all-time-lows-this-month/