The Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price was out of form on Monday and started the week deep in the red.
At one stage the banking giant's shares tumbled as much as 4% to a multi-year low of $22.68.
When they hit that level, it meant they were down almost 25% from their 52-week high of $30.05.
Why are Westpac's shares at a multi-year low?
There have been a couple of catalysts for Westpac's share price weakness.
The first is of course the coronavirus outbreak which has weighed heavily on global financial markets and sent almost all ASX 200 shares sinking lower.
There are concerns that the outbreak could stifle economic growth and even send Australia into a recession.
This would not be good news for Westpac, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), and the rest of the big four banks, and could make trading conditions even tougher for them.
What else is weighing on Westpac's shares?
In addition to this, there are company-specific issues that have been weighing on Westpac's shares.
Last month Morgan Stanley released a bearish broker note suggesting that the bank was now in a downgrade cycle and was facing lower revenue and higher costs.
The broker also has concerns with its capital position and suspects that another dividend cut is coming.
A lot of this may depend upon the extent of the penalties imposed (if any are) from its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism finance laws breaches.
Westpac is alleged to have breached these laws with more than 23 million transactions. Some of which facilitated transactions enabling child exploitation.
Is this a buying opportunity?
Whilst I would choose the other banks, and particularly National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB), ahead of Westpac, it is hard to argue against its shares being cheap at these levels.
This could make it worth considering if you don't have exposure to the banking sector and are searching for a source of income.
In respect to the latter, I estimate that Westpac will pay a ~$1.56 per share dividend in FY 2020. This equates to a fully franked 6.7% dividend yield.
