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The financial stocks that slid the most this week featured regional lenders as traders worried about the health of the banking space after the twin failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, while a cryptocurrency exchange was marked as the biggest gainer following a huge rally in major token prices.
Overall, financial stocks (with market cap of $2B+) suffered from continued bearish sentiment, as the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) fell 5.9% during the week ended March 17, the KBW Nasdaq Bank Index (BKX) dropped 15% and the KBW Regional Bank Index (KRX) retreated 11%.
Taking the first slot, First Republic Bank (NYSE:FRC) cratered 71.8% after a report that the troubled lender was evaluating a potential sale, and later suspended its dividend after receiving $30B in deposits from big banks;
Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) dipped 36.5% as Fitch Ratings placed the bank’s debt ratings on Rating Watch Negative; and
KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) fell 26.4% as the bank appointed Clark Khayat as the next CFO.
Dallas, Texas-based Comerica (NYSE:CMA) plunged 25.9%; and
Zions Bancorporation (NASDAQ:ZION) rounded out the five biggest losers with a 25.8% slide.
For the biggest winners, Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN) topped the list, soaring 40.3%, as bitcoin (BTC-USD) surged during the week;
MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX), an institutional investor-focused financial exchange, climbed 12.4%;
Tradeweb Markets (NASDAQ:TW) gained 11%;
Financial services firm Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) perked up 10.4%; and
Pet insurance provider Trupanion (NASDAQ:TRUP) rose 8.3%.
On Friday, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen assured the Senate that the U.S. banking system remains sound.
