PacWest CFO ‘Sold Puts’ In ‘Show Of Confidence’ Last Week

Instead of charging in with a traditional ‘show of confidence’ by buying the company stock, PacWest Bancorp’s Chief Financial Officer Kevin Thompson made his ‘bullish’ bet by selling puts.

As Bloomberg reports, Thompson, who joined the company in November, is one of more than 100 US banking executives who have bet on their companies’ shares during the recent chaos – much to their chagrin now – only he did it in a protected, less optimistic (and very short-term) manner.

Thompson sold put options on 12,500 PacWest shares on March 9, according to a filing with the SEC.

The document shows that the buyer paid a total of $15,375 for the right to put the stock to Thompson at $22.50 a share.

Theoretically, the position offers Thompson limited upside gains if the stock rebounds, with significant downside risk if the stock plunges.

Things have not worked out well for the CFO as PACW stock price has plunged…

…sending the price of the sold puts soaring into tomorrow’s expiration

With the stock trading at around $10, Thompson stands to lose over $150,000 on the position.

While the sold put position makes some sense, the signal from a CFO trading derivatives into his own stock ahead of a bailout… that didn’t seem to stop the bleeding in regional banks… is not a good look for any banking exec.