Will Fannie Mae Cause Wells Fargo to Plunge Today?

For the first time this week, Wells Fargo stock has dipped below the $40 mark, despite some good news on the housing front. Not that Wells is alone: Bank of America , JPMorgan Chase , and Citigroup are all down this Friday morning, as are both the S&P 500 and the Dow. What's going on here?

Wells and JPMorgan lose out to Fannie
As far as crummy news goes, the revelation that Fannie Mae has been squeezing JPMorgan and Wells out of some juicy profits is pretty bad. The government-sponsored enterprise has been cutting both banks out of a rather lucrative loop, the business of securitizing home mortgage debt for investors. As the heaviest hitters in the home loan origination market, both Wells and JPMorgan stand to lose the biggest piece of that profitable pie.

But, that doesn't explain why Citigroup is falling further than Wells -- but this tidbit might. According to The New York Times, banks are having their lobbyists participate in writing banking laws directly, without bothering those busy congresspersons with all of the usual yammering. One of the most recent of these lobbyist-crafted bills to pass muster was by Citigroup, and it will save oodles of trades from pesky new rules meant to rein them in.

As for B of A, its lethargic showing could be due to the big day in court it will face next week, when New York State Supreme Court Justice Barbara Kapnick opens up the question of whether a previous settlement between the big bank and 22 institutional investors needs to be rejiggered -- which would definitely not be in the bank's best interests.

All that being said, it really doesn't matter much how Wells Fargo's stock behaves today -- or on any given day, for that matter. As Foolish investors well know, a snapshot look at any given stock, taken in isolation, can be detrimental to the long-term view. The big picture, as always, is what really matters, and the normal ups and downs of the market are something that investors with their eyes on the prize take into consideration, knowing that these hills and valleys are just part of the business of intelligent, long-term investing.

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The article Will Fannie Mae Cause Wells Fargo to Plunge Today? originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Amanda Alix has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Wells Fargo. The Motley Fool owns shares of Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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