Next on the bank-bust watchlist: National City?

[marmar]

from MarketWatch:



National City plunges amid WaMu seizure

By MarketWatch


Shares of National City Corp. tumbled to an all-time low as investors appeared to be looking anew for the financial crisis' latest victim following Washington Mutual Inc.'s federal seizure.

Bearish investors initially focused on Wachovia Corp. in premarket trading Friday -- its stock was recently off 29% to $9.65 -- and then apparently set their sights on National City.

Its stock was also subjected to intense selling pressure. The Cleveland-based bank's stock was lately down 31% to $3.42 and earlier reached an all-time low of $2. Volume topped 155 million shares in the early afternoon, six times the daily average.

National City, Wachovia and WaMu all have had well-chronicled problems with mortgages. National City has been known as a commercial and mortgage lender, and at the height of the housing boom, it attributed as much as half its profit to its mortgage and home-equity arms. National City has also been a significant lender to residential developers in Michigan, California and Florida. All three have been hard-hit by the housing downturn.

Spokeswoman Kelly Wagner Amen said National City is significantly different than WaMu's profile, saying her firm "is in a much stronger position than WaMu was."

She noted National City has been cutting its mortgage exposure, "a small portion of our business," and it has no so-called option-ARMs. Such loans have been one of the key pillars of the banking woes, as the mortgages allow some borrowers to pay less than their full monthly interest payment, pushing up the loan's outstanding balance in the process. .....(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/national-city-plunges-amid-wamu/story.aspx?guid=%7BFFF8353D%2D1FB6%2D48B9%2DB5A3%2D4E7F14E09321%7D

[Snarkoleptic]

1. Here's a great site that brings all the news together.

http://bankimplode.com/