While the majority of U.S. bank stocks appreciated in November, a pair of banks with cryptocurrency exposure experienced sharp downturns.

The median monthly total return of the 210 banks in the S&P Global Market Intelligence analysis was 1.7%. Larger-cap stocks outperformed, as reflected in the market-cap-weighted S&P U.S. BMI Banks index, which returned 5.0%. Still, both groups of banks trailed the S&P 500's 5.6% return.

S&P Global Market Intelligence analyzes U.S. banks trading on the Nasdaq, NYSE or NYSEAM with total assets of greater than $3 billion in the most recent quarter available. Excludes banks in the mutual holding company ownership structure, other operating subsidiaries, and mutual bank conversions until financial data is available for the quarter following the conversion date. Adjusted tangible book value is calculated as the sum of tangible common equity and loss reserves less nonperforming assets and loans 90 or more days past due but still accruing interest divided by common shares outstanding.

Riding the crypto wave

La Jolla, Calif.-based Silvergate Capital Corp. and New York-based Signature Bank — cryptocurrency pioneers in the banking space — have been two of the most volatile bank stocks during the last year. Their stock movements in November were unfavorable based on a component of the cryptocurrency industry imploding. Risk at both banks includes potential deposit outflows associated with digital assets as cryptocurrency exchange FTX Trading Ltd. swiftly unraveled in early November, ultimately filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Nov. 11.

Silvergate's stock price was more than halved in November, by far the worst market performance in the analysis. Shares were brutally chopped down on several days, including daily losses of 22.6% on Nov. 8, 12.0% on Nov. 9, 17.3% on Nov. 15, 11.0% on Nov. 17 and 10.8% on Nov. 18.

Even after a modest share price recovery the rest of the month, the bank's price-to-adjusted tangible book value, or P/ATBV, plummeted to 92.2% at Nov. 30, dropping it to the eighth-lowest-valued bank in the analysis. A year earlier, Silvergate was the third-most-expensive bank with a P/ATBV of 506.1%.

Signature's monthly stock decline was not as severe but, at negative 12.0%, it represented the second-worst performance in the analysis. In terms of P/ATBV, Signature traded at more than a 100-percentage-point premium to the industry from November 2021 to March 2022. The premium then fell for the next four months before turning into a discount in August. At the end of November, Signature was the 40th-cheapest bank by P/ATBV, with a discount of 43 percentage points.

Entries and exits

Besides Silvergate, the only other new entry into the bottom 20 valuation list was Kearny Financial Corp. Bucking the industry trend, the Fairfield, N.J.-based bank's net interest margin shrunk 23 basis points during the third quarter.

The two exits from the list were a pair of New York-based banks with under $10 billion in total assets at Sept. 30 and dividend yields greater than 4% at Nov. 30: First of Long Island Corp. in Glen Head and Financial Institutions Inc. in Warsaw.

* Explore S&P Global Market Intelligence's calculations for price-to-adjusted tangible book value as of Nov. 30. * Set email alerts for future Data Dispatch articles.

Bottom 20 valuation banks

Citigroup Inc. was the cheapest bank in the analysis by P/ATBV for the 12th consecutive month. After a 10.1% total return in October, shares continued to rally in November, with an appreciation of 6.8%.

Santa Rosa, Calif.-based Luther Burbank Corp., the sixth-lowest-valued bank, announced a sale to Seattle-based Washington Federal Inc. on Nov. 13, representing the third-largest deal in the industry this year. Both merger partners traded down last month.

On Dec. 1, Hicksville, N.Y.-based New York Community Bancorp Inc., the No. 20 bank on the list, completed its acquisition of Troy, Mich.-based Flagstar Bancorp Inc., which was the fourth-cheapest bank at the end of November.