PacWest Shares Tumble 25% Amid Deposit Outflows

PacWest (PACW) shares were down 25% intra-day after the struggling regional bank reported 9.5% deposit outflows for the week ended May 5, reigniting concerns about the health of the bank.

Shares were down as much as 33% in early trading Thursday, before recovering some losses as of 11:15 a.m. Eastern Central Time.

PacWest said last week’s deposit outflows were driven by media reports that the bank was exploring strategic options. The bank now has $15 billion of available liquidity, compared to $5.2 billion in uninsured deposits, and was able to fund the outflows with these reserves.

Shares of the Los Angeles-based bank tumbled to record lows last week, days after First Republic Bank became the third high-profile bank failure since March, raising concerns that PacWest could be the next casualty in the ongoing banking crisis. Its shares are down 80% year-to-date.

Shares of other regional lenders have tumbled this year as the banking crisis unfolded. Those of KeyCorp (KEY), Comerica (CMA), and Zions Bancorp. (ZION) have shed roughly half their value so far this year.

Western Alliance (WAL), another troubled regional lender, said its deposits rose $1.8 billion between March 31 and May 9.

As of April 24, 73% of PacWest's deposits were insured, up significantly from 48% at the end of 2022, the company said in its latest earnings report. Some of the bank’s biggest depositors—those with funds exceeding the FDIC's $250,000 insurance limit—withdrew their funds amid the banking crisis. A larger share of insured deposits could inspire greater investor confidence in the bank's viability over the long run.

The turmoil in the banking sector has led to calls for more stringent regulation of the banking industry. However, JPMorgan Chase (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon, whose firm acquired the embattled First Republic Bank earlier this month, cautioned against excessive regulation and warned policymakers may be taking the wrong lessons from the crisis.

"I think it’s going to get worse for banks—more regulations, more rules, and more requirements," Dimon said in a television interview with Bloomberg. "If you overdo certain rules, requirements, regulations—there are some of these community banks that tell me they have more compliance people than loan officers."