Columbia Banking slips 12% in pre-market, continues two-day slide

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Columbia Banking System Inc. (Nasdaq:COLB) is down more than 12% in pre-market trading today after the Tacoma, Wash.-based holding company closed nearly 41% lower on Thursday. Late Wednesday the company said it anticipates making a provision for loan losses of $15.4 million for the second quarter of 2008. Columbia Banking said the decision was due to an increase in non-accrual loans resulting from the weak economy.

Thursday's drop also came on the heels of two analyst downgrades. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Columbia Banking to “market perform” from “outperform,” while D.A. Davidson cut the holding company’s rating to “underperform” from “neutral.”

Ahead of the opening today, shares of Columbia Banking are at $9.50, down $1.30 from Thursday’s close. The company’s shares have ranged from yesterday’s low of $9.30 to $34 during the past year.

For detailed price information and recent news stories about Columbia Banking System Inc., click COLB.