Capital One shares up after billionaire investor Buffett’s near $1 bln bet on bank

May 16 (Reuters) – Shares of Capital One Financial Corp (COF.N) rose in premarket trading on Tuesday after billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s holding company disclosed it had taken a stake in the credit cards-focused bank.
The bank’s stock, which was trading up 7% at $95.37, would open at its highest in more than two weeks, if gains hold.
In its quarterly disclosure after the bell on Monday, Berkshire Hathaway (BRKa.N) said it had a 9.92 million share stake in the company. The stake would be worth $954 million, based on the closing price on March 31.
As of Monday, Capital One shares had lost around 8% so far this month, as financial stocks felt the effects of First Republic Bank’s collapse.
Besides credit cards, the McLean, Virginia-based Capital One also has a huge auto lending and commercial banking business.
Western Alliance Bancorp (WAL.N), Comerica Inc (CMA.N) and KeyCorp (KEY.N) rose between 1% and 3% as investors’ focus shifted away from the troubles of the regional banking sector towards the U.S. debt ceiling debate.
But PacWest Bancorp’s (PACW.O) rally came to a screeching halt. Shares were down nearly 2% premarket after surging about 18% on Monday.
Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri
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