High Yields Raise Red Flags for Bank Stocks

Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) just became the latest in a string of hard-hit financial firms to slash its dividend to preserve much-needed cash. Yesterday (Wednesday),the Ohio-based regional bank slashed its dividend to 15 cents down from 44 cents, becoming the 17th company to reduce or eliminate its dividend completely this year, Bloomberg News reported. Fifth Third certainly wasn’t the first bank to have to resort to this unpopular measure, nor will it be the last. Financial firms of every stripe have taken a beating from the subprime mortgage crisis that has accounted for $396 billion in write-downs so far. From national consumer banks such…