© October 27, 2023
(data through October 26)
U.S. Stock Market
Banks are at the heart of our financial system. By taking in deposits and initiating loans, they pump credit liquidity into the far reaches of the U.S. economy. With interest rates skyrocketing and the value of bond portfolios crashing, three of the seven largest bank failures in U.S. history occurred in March and May of this year. Our chart on page 4 of the April issue not only showed charts of these failed banks but also exposed the plunging share prices of PacWest Bancorp, Zions Bancorp, Western Alliance Bancorp, Customers Bancorp and Comerica. All these stocks remain down and are now anywhere from 59% to 88% below their highs in January and February 2022, respectively.
But banking-sector pain is no longer confined to medium-sized institutions. The next series of charts shows the share prices for eight of the ten largest U.S. banks. Economists may be largely unaware of it, but these declines illustrate that the “purge” phase of the current credit cycle is underway. It will soon wreak havoc with many sectors of the economy.
Is My Bank Safe?
“For bankers to educate depositors about bank safety would be to disturb their main source of profits.”
— Robert Prechter
Banks of all sizes are riskier than they used to be. Think SVB, Silvergate, Credit Suisse and First Republic — all in 2023!
Could your bank be next?
Can the FDIC really guarantee your money?
Read this special report now. It will help you understand the flaws in modern banking, so you can perform your own personal stress test to find out if you can trust your bank.Don’t put your money at risk. Get answers NOW.