Regional Banks – Continuing Credit Turmoil

The recent earnings from many of the regional banks reflect the impact of the credit crunch and subprime turmoil. Washington Mutual announced a 72% profit drop today. Wells Fargo, U.S. Bancorp, KeyCorp, and others were impacted in a similar manner in their reports this week.

Nearly all the banks made statements in which they said that they do not see the situation improving over the next six months; this is a solid sign that investors should expect further decline in the financials. The credit turmoil is not simply contained to mortgage lenders and investment banks, but has infected regional and local banks that tend to adhere to traditional lending standards…. This is not good news for the banking stocks in your portfolio.

Credit Crunch hits Regional Banks
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/credit-crunch-hits-regional-banks/story.aspx?guid=%7B736175B9%2D4000%2D4639%2D8EC5%2D312494C117A2%7D&