Stock exchanges temporarily halted trading for several bank stocks Monday following a pre-market trading collapse in response to the government taking control of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank.
First Republic bank stock plunged by nearly 70% before trading was temporarily halted, leading the market decline in the banking sector. Likewise, stock trading was temporarily halted for Western Alliance Bancorp, Regions Financial Corp., Zions Bancorp, Comerica Inc., and PacWest Bancorp because of volatility in early morning trading, per the NASDAQ. (RELATED: Biden Promises Banking System Is ‘Safe,’ Says Management Of Silicon Valley Bank Will Be Fired)
BREAKING: First Republic Bank shares drop by record 67% at the open before trading halted https://t.co/XrG3RVA421 pic.twitter.com/9AIEPMcRTZ
— Bloomberg (@business) March 13, 2023
The sharp declines in bank stock valuations reflects the panic from investors following the sudden collapse of Silicon Valley Bank on Thursday, the largest financial meltdown since 2008.
SVB sold $21 billion of securities purchased in 2020 at a $1.8 billion loss due to the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes. A run on the bank was initiated by Venture Capitalists on Wednesday because SVB had stored its capital in long term treasuries, making it difficult to provide capital for companies in need of loans, according to Bloomberg.
Regulators seized Silicon Valley Bank to protect customers on Friday and announced a plan to protect all of the bank’s depositors on Sunday night. Signature Bank was also seized by regulators on Sunday, when it became the third largest financial institution to ever fail in the wake of the SVB failure.