US Banks Drop Nearly 8% On Brexit

The largest U.S. banks had a rough day Friday following the U.K. vote to leave the European Union. The average share price loss for the country’s six biggest banks was 7.59%.

The unexpected result of the voting called into question how the global financial system would be changed and left investors looking for a safe place to put their money.

The big banks were not the place. London’s position as the financial capital of Europe is certainly in jeopardy and that could result in the shifting of the banks’ European headquarters to Paris or Frankfurt or Milan or who knows where. There is likely to be a real scrum and that will cost the U.S. banks money.

The Brexit vote is also likely to delay further any Fed interest rate hikes. That hurts the banks which depend on interest income more these days now that trading desks have lost their ability to generate revenues and profits.

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The one bit of good news for the giant U.S. banks is that all passed the Fed’s stress tests with strong capital positions making another so-called “Lehman moment” unlikely to occur and threaten the entire global banking system.

Good news was scarce though, and the banks’ closing share prices showed it.Here’s a wrap-up.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) closed down 6.95% at $59.60, with a consensus analyst price target of $70.78 and a 52-week trading range of $50.07 to $70.61.

Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) closed down 7.41% at $13.00. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $17.40 and a 52-week trading range of $10.99 to $18.48.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) closed down 9.36% at $40.30. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $55.84 and a 52-week trading range of $34.52 to $60.95.

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) is the most hedged out of the major banks, as most of its exposure remains within the U.S. Shares of Wells Fargo closed down 4.59% at $45.71. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $54.80 and a 52-week trading range of $44.50 to $58.77.

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS) closed down 7.07% at $141.86, with a consensus analyst price target of $185.17 and a 52-week trading range of $139.05 to $214.61.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) took the worst hit, closing at $24.52, down 10.15% on the day. The stock’s consensus price target is $31.32 and the 52-week range is $21.16 to $41.04. The bank denied a report that it already had plans to move employees out of Britain as a result of the Brexit vote.