Banking stocks increased sharply today, as the KBW Banking Index rose 6.61% and the KBW Regional Banking Index rose 9.26%. The broader S&P 500 Index was up 6.92%.  The S&P 500 was down nearly 4% midday before rising sharply to close the session.

The Bank Index was led by Fifth Third Bancorp, National City, and Bank of New York Mellon, which were up 14.96%, 13.00%, and 12.71%, respectively. Lagging on the day was Citigroup, which was down 1.97% as the bank denied reports that it is looking for a new chairman.  Citigroup sank below $9 a share during the session before recovering to close at $9.45.

Leading the Regional Banking Index were Colonial Bancgroup, Frontier Financial Corporation, and Citizens Republic Bancorp, which were up 43.18%, 24.15%, and 23.46%, respectively. Offsetting these were Corus Bankshares and Svb Financial Group, which had losses of 3.72% and 2.56%.