: PacWest freefall ‘feeds that narrative’ of bank weakness despite ‘fundamentally sound’ businesses: analyst

PacWest Bancorp PACW stock is down 39% in premarket trades as jitters around the health of regional banks persist and after Bloomberg reported the bank is considering a potential sale. Citi analyst Keith Horowitz said in a research note that the weakness in PacWest stock comes amid investor concerns tied to mark-to-market losses on the asset side of the balance sheet combined with deposit flight due to reliance of banks on uninsured deposits, which leads to concerns about solvency. “The recent PACW news only feeds that narrative, and many investors for now are waiting this one out which has created an air pocket for the stocks,” Horowitz said. “This creates a near-term challenge, but we believe the business models for our universe are fundamentally sound and we believe this selloff has created very attractive long-term opportunities.” Meanwhile, Western Alliance Bancorp WAL is down 20% and First Horizon FHN is down 47% in premarket trades after its merger with TD was scrapped,

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