Industry’s woes trickle down to regional banks

Regional bank stocks aren’t the haven that investors hoped they would be — as shares of Cleveland-based KeyCorp demonstrated Wednesday. KeyCorp stunned investors late Tuesday by warning that loan losses would surge this year. Its shares plunged $2.29, or 10.4%, to $19.66 on Wednesday, their lowest since 2000. The news also walloped shares of other regional banks, including Atlanta-based SunTrust Banks, which slid 4%; Birmingham, Ala.-based Regions Financial, down 5%; and Comerica Inc. of Dallas, down 3.8%. Beverly Hills-based City National Corp. fared better but still lost ground, off 2.4%. For the full story visit http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-banks29-2008may29,0,4282692.story