Why Bank of America, Wells Fargo Shares Are Rising

Bank Of America Corp BAC and Wells Fargo & Co WFC shares are moving higher Wednesday alongside several other bank names. The entire sector is rallying on the heels of a deposit update from Western Alliance Bancorp WAL, which has helped ease broader banking concerns.

What Happened: Western Alliance said quarter-to-date deposit growth had exceeded $2 billion as of May 12. The bank also noted that 79% of current deposits were insured, up from 68% at the end of March. 

Just last week, Western Alliance provided a deposit update showing that quarter-to-date deposits had climbed $1.8 billion. The new update shows the bank added at least another $200 million in deposits over the last week. 

A new regulatory filing also revealed that Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway made some moves in the banking space last quarter, which could be helping boost bank stocks this week. The Buffett-led firm added to positions in Bank of America and Citigroup in the first quarter. Berkshire also invested more than $950 million in Capital One Financial Corp.

See Also: Warren Buffett Trims Activision Blizzard, Adds Capital One In Q1: What Investors Need To Know

BAC, WFC Price Action: At publication time, Bank of America shares were up 3.31% at $28.27 and Wells Fargo shares were up 4.08% at $39.95, per Benzinga Pro.

Photo: Mike Mozart from Flickr.