Regional Bank ETFs Struggle With Confidence

While the big banks were indeed hit today, including Bank of America (BAC) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM), regional banks also felt the effects.

As a reminder, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insures up to $100,000 per depositor (not per account, but per individual). The $100,000 amount applies to all depositors of an insured bank, except for owners of certain retirement accounts, which are insured up to $250,000 per owner, per insured bank.

Since these funds are still just near or above their 200-day moving averages, we believe that when the market begins to turn around, they’ll show a quick, strong recovery thanks to the nimbleness of their underlying holdings.

The ETFs affected include:

• KBW Regional Bank (KRE): down 5.1% year-to-date; down 10.1% in the last week; up 31.4% in the last three months
• iShares Dow Jones U.S. Regional Banks (IAT): down 31.3% year-to-date; down 12.7% in the last week; up 16.5% in the last three months