The positions were revealed in quarterly securities filings known as 13-fs. While backward looking, these snapshots show what funds owned on the last day of the quarter and are one of the few ways that hedge funds and other institutional investors have to declare their positions. They may not reflect current holdings. Global hedge funds cut their exposure to U.S. banking stocks to a near 10-year low in March and fled lending-sensitive shares amid turmoil in the industry following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.
Bridgewater did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment. The firm also slashed its positions in smaller banks such as Bank of Hawaii Corp , Pacwest Bancorp , PNC Financial Services Group , Citizens Financial Group and Capital One Financial Corp .
At the end of December, Bridgewater's biggest stake in banks was Bank of America, valued at $106.2 billion, followed by $92.8 million in JPMorgan.
Bridgewater was also bearish on European banks in March,
after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank sparked contagion
fears across global banks, a Reuters report showed. Following
SVB, Signature Bank was also placed into receivership in March,
while JPMorgan bought First Republic Bank's assets earlier this
month.
(Reporting by Carolina Mandl, in Sao Paulo; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
