BUZZ-Regional banks down as Trump's tariffs trigger recession fears

** Shares of U.S. regional banks down after President Trump slapped reciprocal tariffs on major geographies, sparking recession fears among investors

** Some regional banks like Fifth Third Bancorp FITB.O, M&T Bank MTB.N, Keycorp KEY.N and Comerica CMA.N fell, with Western Alliance WAL.N leading the declines with a nearly 9% fall

** The sweeping new tariffs will raise effective import taxes in the world's largest economy to the highest levels in a century, which is expected to trigger recession, affecting banks' lending business as consumers will cut their spending

** The recession fears will also prompt Federal Reserve to slash interest rates which will eat up into banks' net interest income, a key profit metric for the lenders

** KBW Regional Banking Index .KRX tumbles 7.7%

(Reporting by Jaiveer Singh Shekhawat in Bengaluru)

((JaiveerSingh.Shekhawat@thomsonreuters.com;))