Source: Wall Street Journal

Translation (Coin Circle Helmsman)

In March this year, when the banking crisis broke out, more than 1,000 executives and directors from more than 600 companies bought their company's stocks, more than half of whom were from financial companies, a proportion that was the highest in at least two years.

The people at U.S. listed companies are taking concrete actions to show investors that they are not worried about the banking crisis.

According to statistics from the Washington Service, an organization that analyzes insider trading data, more than 1,000 executives and directors from more than 600 companies bought their company's stocks in March this year. The number of insiders who bought and the number of related companies both hit a new high since May last year. The ratio of insiders buying and selling stocks in March reached the highest level since September last year.

Moreover, Washington Service found that more than half of insiders who bought their own company’s stock in March were executives and directors of financial companies, the highest proportion in at least two years.

The media believes that financial companies account for a large proportion because after the collapse of three US banks including Silicon Valley Bank caused panic, corporate executives were betting that their company's stocks would rebound, which reflects the optimism of companies after the outbreak of the banking crisis.

In March, the US stock market also showed resilience, withstanding the impact of the banking crisis that month. The three major US stock indexes rose collectively, rebounding after the decline in February, and rising for the fourth month in the past six months. The S&P, which fell 2.61% in February, rose 3.51%; the Dow, which fell 4.19% in February, the largest monthly decline since September last year, rose 1.89%; and the Nasdaq, which fell 1.11% in February, rose 6.69%.

According to statistics from investment research firm VerityData, insider buying of stocks in March was concentrated in regional banks. Ben Silverman, director of research at the firm, said that insiders were hinting that they were confident in the ability of banks to withstand the storm. This signal is definitely positive for investors.

Eric Diton, president and managing director of investment advisory firm The Wealth Alliance, commented that he believes the banking crisis has been contained, and the rush of stock buying by bank insiders confirms this view. He is optimistic about the U.S. stock market, especially dividend stocks, because he expects interest rates may fall soon.

Diton claims to enjoy observing the behavior of corporate insiders and says, "This is not 2008 (financial crisis)."

Wall Street Journal recently mentioned that more than one big shot has recently supported regional bank stocks.

Last month, hedge fund tycoon Ackman said that regional bank stocks are "incredibly cheap" at the moment, but only if the U.S. government does the "right thing." Ackman believes that as interest rates fall in the future, regional banks will be a very good investment. He bluntly stated that the importance of the U.S. small banking system is no less important than that of large U.S. banks, and may even be more important.

Last week, old "Bond King" Bill Gross revealed that he bought regional bank stocks including Alliance Western Bancorp (WAL), Synovus Financial Corp (SNV), Westpac Banking Corporation (PACW), and the SPDR S&P Regional Bank ETF (KRE).

Gross said he had long wanted to own a bank, a business that could make money even if run conservatively, and now had realized that long-cherished wish through the public markets. He predicted that smaller regional banks could be "swallowed up" by larger ones at prices above current prices.

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