PacWest Stocks Plunged Over 50%; Will US Government Seize the Bank?

• The PacWest stock has fallen 79% this year.
• Today, PacWest stock declined by 50% and traded at $6.42.

PacWest Bancorp shares dropped more than 56% during Wednesday’s extended trading. The California holding company’s share price declined following news that the bank is “weighing strategic options.”

PacWest is attempting to avoid the fate of other regional lenders that were taken over by American regulators in the last two months. As per the report, the West Regional Bank has been looking at strategic options for a potential sale or capital raise. This comes after the liquidity boost it announced in March failed to boost confidence in its faltering share price.

Further, the shares of several West Coast regional banks have taken a hit since Silicon Valley Bank collapsed in March and was taken over by the government. If the reports are true, PacWest stock, which has already fallen 79% this year ($29 to $6), could take further hits soon.

However, there is currently no assurance that PacWest will be the next bank the government seizes. It all depends on how far the PacWest stocks change for the worse over the coming  days. In addition, last week, US regulators took control of the First Republic Bank. So there is a chance that PacWest will follow in the same footsteps.

Additionally, the current banking crisis has created favorable conditions for the cryptocurrency market. At the time of writing, the global market had soared over 1.73% to $1.19 trillion. The market leader, Bitcoin (BTC), is trading in the $29K price range. And the second-largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum (ETH), is trading at the $1.9K price mark.