Why These Bank Stocks Got Clobbered in August
Shares of numerous bank stocks fell by double-digit percentages during August, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. These included smaller banks like SVB Financial Group (NASDAQ: SIVB), online banker Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS), regional banks like Cincinnati-based Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) and Buffalo-based M&T Bank (NYSE: MTB), and international banks like Britain's Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS) and the Netherlands' ING Groep NV (NYSE: ING).
It didn't seem to matter whether the stocks had been doing well, like Discover's (which is still up more than 35% year to date), or poorly, like Barclays' (down about 7% year to date). None had been the subject of major negative news during the month, although you could argue that Brexit uncertainty may have affected European banks' shares more than the others. But a potential Brexit is likely to have broader effects on the global economy, and that was just one of the issues weighing on bank stocks during the month.
The stock market hammered financial industry stocks in August. Image source: Getty Images.
Source Fool.com
