Insiders were stepping up and buying this week at these regional banks and niche financials

Published Fri, Mar 17 202312:04 PM EDT

The banking crisis drove regional bank stocks sharply lower this week, but many insiders took advantage of the turmoil to scoop up shares of their own institutions in what may prove a vote of confidence. Shares of regional banks slumped as the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank left investors worried that other regional banks might face similar balance sheet issues, a possible mismatch between long-dated assets and short-dated liabilities. First Republic, which is the epicenter of the rout, sold off drastically again Friday, leading a decline in the industry. Regional banks had regained some ground Thursday in anticipation of a group of 11 banks stepping in to First Republic by depositing $30 billion for at least 120 days . The SPDR Regional Banking ETF (KRE) is still down 14% this week. But KeyCorp , Zions Bancorp and Comerica are all lower by 25% or more this week. Charles Schwab Notably, Charles Schwab CEO Walt Bettinger bought 50,000 shares Tuesday, worth nearly $3 million, for his personal account. "That much confidence I certainly have in this company," Bettinger told CNBC. He reassured investors that his firm is still experiencing sizable inflows, adding that Schwab doesn't buy long-duration assets and has a low loan-to-deposit ratio. Here are other Schwab insiders who snapped up shares in the past few days. The stock is down more than 7% this week. Walter Bettinger (CEO) bought 50,000 shares Tuesday Stephen Ellis (Director) bought 34,400 shares Wednesday Todd Ricketts (Director) bought 10,000 shares Tuesday Stephen Ellis (Director) bought 6,800 shares Tuesday John Adams Jr. (Director) bought 5,000 shares Tuesday Peter Crawford (CFO) bought 5,000 shares Tuesday Richard A. Wurster (President) bought 5,000 shares on Tuesday Mark Goldfarb (Director) bought 4,000 shares Thursday Western Alliance Bancorp Marianne Boyd Johnson (Director) bought 2,500 shares on Monday Another name caught up in the rout was Western Alliance, which has fallen 38% this week alone. Marianne Boyd Johnson, a director at the firm, bought 2,500 shares Monday amid the chaos. On Monday, Western Alliance said it saw only "moderate" outflows , and its cash reserves exceed $25 billion. The bank had $67 billion in total assets as of the end of 2022 . "Western Alliance has taken additional steps to strengthen its liquidity position to ensure that we are in a position to meet all of our client funding needs, including increasing our borrowing capacity," the bank said in a statement. Valley National Bancorp Ira Robbins (CEO) bought 5,000 shares Wednesday Jennifer Steans (Director) bought 150,000 shares Tuesday Eric Edelstein (Director) bought 20,000 shares Tuesday Melissa Schultz (Director) bought 15,000 shares Tuesday Jeffrey Wilks (Director) bought 8,000 shares Tuesday Marc Lenner (Director) bought 5,000 shares Tuesday Suresh Sani (Director) bought 5,000 shares Tuesday Valley National Bancorp saw a rush of insider buying this week, including purchases by its CEO and several directors. The bank is down about 5% this week. Here are other notable insider purchases over the past few days, including at Stifel , PNC , Truist , Fifth Third Bancorp , and East West Bancorp. Stifel Financial Ronald Kruszewski (CEO) bought 10,000 shares Friday Ronald Kruszewski (CEO) bought another 10,200 shares Tuesday PNC Financial Kieran John Fallon (Executive VP) bought 1,000 shares Wednesday William Demchak (CEO) bought 1,000 shares on Monday Truist Financial David Ratcliffe (Director) bought 13,100 shares on Friday Fifth Third Bancorp Gary Heminger (Director) bought 47,500 shares on Monday East West Bancorp Irene Oh (CFO) bought 10,000 shares Monday Patrick Hackett Jr. (Director) bought 7,100 shares Monday