Shares of US regional banks rallied in premarket trading after Western Alliance Bancorp said deposits grew by more than $2 billion since the quarter’s end, easing worries about the health of US regional lenders.
(Bloomberg) — Shares of US regional banks rallied in premarket trading after Western Alliance Bancorp said deposits grew by more than $2 billion since the quarter’s end, easing worries about the health of US regional lenders.
Shares of Western Alliance were 8.5% higher in premarket trading as of 5:33 a.m. in New York. Regional lending peer PacWest Bancorp gained 9% and Zions Bancorp was 1.9% higher.
Western Alliance previously reported that deposit levels had increased $1.8 billion from the end of the prior quarter to $49.4 billion as of May 9. Its latest figures indicate deposit levels increased by another $200 million between May 9 and May 12.
The lender has demonstrated “stability amid an uncertain operating backdrop,” Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Herman Chan and Sergio Ferreira wrote in a note. “We see the bank as well positioned, with $22.6 billion in available liquidity and only about $10 billion in uninsured deposits.”
Read More: Dip Buyers Scorched by Cratering Bank Stocks Rush for the Exits
Western Alliance was one of the regional banks initially swept up in the turmoil that followed the collapse of other lenders earlier this year, with investors concerned about unrealized losses on bond investments and deposit levels. Exposure to real estate lending has also been in focus.
Concerns over the financial health of the lenders has hit the KBW Regional Banking Index, which has declined 32% so far this year. It fell 1.9% on Tuesday after rallying 3% the day prior.
(Updates shares move.)
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.