Bank stocks suffer on new worries about construction loans

By Rick Rothacker | Charlotte Observer

Construction loans on Monday became the latest source of angst wreaking havoc on bank stocks.

After Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Inc. analyst Paul Miller issued a report highlighting banks with the most exposure to these loans, a number of financial firms saw their shares nosedive. Among the biggest losers were Atlanta-based SunTrust Banks Inc. (down about 9 percent) and Memphis-based First Horizon National Corp. (down about 11 percent).