Thousands of Stock Options on Failed Banks in Limbo as Expiration Hits
- SVB Financial, Signature Bank halts cause settlement confusion
- Put contracts on the banks may be worth around $292 million
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Stock options worth hundreds of millions of dollars tied to failed lenders SVB Financial Group and Signature Bank are reaching expiration Friday with no certainty whether or how they can be cashed in.
Shares of both institutions are no longer trading following their collapse this week, throwing into doubt the ability of in-the-money options holders to exercise those contracts. In other words, traders who bet on stock declines — correctly, since shares in both lenders plunged before their collapse — may struggle to collect profits.