Bank Stocks Drop on Escalating Mortgage-Cost Concerns

Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc. and H&R Block Inc. plunged, leading a drop in financial stocks, on escalating concerns that faulty handling of home loans and foreclosures will fuel costs.

H&R Block dropped $1.38, or 10 percent, to $12.31 at 4:15 p.m. in New York, the third-biggest decline among stocks in the S&P 500 Index. Bank of America slid 5.2 percent, Wells Fargo & Co. declined 4.2 percent, and Citigroup tumbled 4.5 percent. Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America and New York-based JPMorgan Chase & Co., which fell 2.8 percent, were today’s worst performers in the 30-member Dow Jones Industrial Average.