Trading halted in shares of two more US lenders as fears of banking crisis mount

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

Trading halted in shares of two more US lenders as fears of banking crisis mount

Regulators step in after PacWest and Western Alliance shares plunge as investors fear repeat of First Republic, SVB and Signature failures

Dominic Rushe, Julia Kollewe and Lois Beckett in Los Angeles
Thu 4 May 2023 22.23 BST
First published on Thu 4 May 2023 10.55 BST

Trading in the shares of two more regional US lenders was temporarily suspended on Thursday amid a widening crisis for the country’s mid-sized banks.

Regulators stepped in to halt trading in the Los Angeles-based PacWest and Arizona’s Western Alliance following dramatic drops in their share prices.

It came after another mid-sized bank, First Republic, was sold to JP Morgan earlier this week. Depositors had pulled $100bn from First Republic, fearing their money was no longer safe.

PacWest had sought to calm markets on Wednesday and said it was in talks with several potential investors after its shares fell by as much as 60%. But the sell-off continued on Thursday and affected other regional banks.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/may/04/shares-in-california-lender-pacwest-plummet-amid-fears-of-new-us-banking-crisis

No-registration link: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trading-halted-shares-two-more-163731991.html

[SWBTATTReg]

1. Another gold rush, started by short sellers in the stock and / or debt markets. Markets haven't

been really profitable, so short sellers are looking around for weak banks and/or other financial institutions and then attacking them, by shorting their stocks drastically, putting more and more pressure on these banks / institutions. Putting the short squeeze on them.

Short sellers then buy back the depressed stocks, making a handsome profit in the meantime.

[Warpy]

2. The real problem is over a decade of free money

meaning low or no interest loans to banks. That encouraged them to do high risk/high return lending.

This is part of the hangover after the binge. It's no surprise that Silicon Valley banks are feeling the brunt of it. It will spread to other banks eventually, to any that abandoned sound business in favor of chasing the big bucks, fast.

[peppertree]

3. You're both right

It's mad, mad world.