What Happened?
A number of stocks fell in the afternoon session after disclosures from two lenders raised concerns about deteriorating loan quality across the industry.
The drop was triggered by specific incidents that have spooked investors. Zions Bancorp announced a $50 million charge-off—a debt the bank doesn't expect to collect—on a single loan. Separately, Western Alliance Bancorp revealed it was dealing with a borrower who had failed to provide proper collateral. These events are compounding existing anxieties about the regional banking sector, which is already under pressure from elevated interest rates and declining commercial real estate values. The news heightened investor concerns that more cracks could appear in borrowers' creditworthiness, potentially leading to increased loan losses and reduced profitability for other banks in the sector.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.
Among others, the following stocks were impacted:
- Regional Banks company United Community Banks (NYSE: UCB) fell 5.7%. Is now the time to buy United Community Banks? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
- Regional Banks company Trustmark (NASDAQ: TRMK) fell 5.7%. Is now the time to buy Trustmark? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
- Regional Banks company TriCo Bancshares (NASDAQ: TCBK) fell 4.5%. Is now the time to buy TriCo Bancshares? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
- Regional Banks company The Bancorp (NASDAQ: TBBK) fell 5.5%. Is now the time to buy The Bancorp? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
- Regional Banks company Synovus Financial (NYSE: SNV) fell 5%. Is now the time to buy Synovus Financial? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
Zooming In On United Community Banks (UCB)
United Community Banks’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 6 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 6 days ago when the stock dropped 2.6% as investors reacted to escalating trade tensions between the US and China following President Trump's announcement of a potential 'massive increase' in tariffs on Chinese imports. Earlier in the week, China announced new export controls on the critical minerals. Beijing's Commerce Ministry stated that foreign suppliers now need government approval to export products containing certain rare-earth materials. These materials are essential for producing high-tech goods, including computer chips, electric vehicles, and defense technology. Analysts viewed the move as a strategic assertion of China's dominance in the global rare earth supply chain, particularly amid ongoing trade tensions and ahead of an anticipated meeting between the US and Chinese presidents.
United Community Banks is down 6.3% since the beginning of the year, and at $29.55 per share, it is trading 14.8% below its 52-week high of $34.68 from November 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of United Community Banks’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,567.
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