Shares in national banks fell across the board in early trading Monday, with Bank of America Corp. and Washington Mutual Inc. pacing the declines

Shares in national banks fell across the board in early trading Monday, with Bank of America Corp. and Washington Mutual Inc. pacing the declines, as the broader market lurched after two storied investment banks were taken out in the worsening financial crisis.Bank of America dragged on the sector after it announced late Sunday a deal to buy investment bank Merrill Lynch & Co. for $50 billion.
Investors sold the stock briskly, which is often the case when a company spends heavily on an acquisition because of the short-term costs and difficulties of integrating two disparate businesses.The bank's shares slid $4.62, or 14 percent, to $29.12 in early trading.Merrill made the move to potentially avoid the worse fate of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., which was forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection early Monday.Washington Mutual Inc. continued its multiday decline, dropping another 15 percent to $2.31 early Monday, on concerns that it may not have enough credit to weather the financial crisis.All of the moves were triggered by exposure to risky mortgage loans that left investors scrambling to assess individual banks' exposure.