The Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price has had a disappointing start to the week.
In morning trade the banking giant's shares were down over 3% to a 52-week low of $24.92.
Why is the Westpac share price at a 52-week low?
The Australian share market is in selloff mode again on Monday and the banking sector is one of the worst performing areas on it.
It isn't just Westpac that is under pressure. The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) share price is down 2.5%, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price is 2.5% lower, and the National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price has fallen over 1.5%.
Local investors have been selling the Australian banks today after their U.S. counterparts fell heavily during trade on Wall Street on Friday.
Bank of America shares were down 3%, Citigroup fell 2.8%, Goldman Sachs was down 2.5%, and Morgan Stanley dropped 3%.
In addition to this, CNBC has blamed the Australian share market selloff on significantly weaker-than-expected Chinese trade data released over the weekend.
According to the news outlet, China's weaker than expected November exports and imports could be pointing to slower global and domestic demand and could mean that Beijing will have to undertake more measures to boost growth.
Should you buy the dip?
While I don't expect the banks to rally notably higher in the near term, at these levels I do think they offer a compelling risk/reward to investors that have limited exposure to the sector already.
All four of the big banks look good value after recent declines, but my preference remains ANZ Bank and Westpac. I believe both offer investors a great combination of value and income, which could make it worth sticking with them during these turbulent times.
