Under Pressure, Wells Fargo Cancels Vegas Junket

Compensation limits have prompted swift TARP repayment

(NEWSER) - A common complaint about the TARP bailouts was that by injecting capital and making the financial environment more friendly, the government wasn't doing enough to push the banks into real reform. Why wouldn't the banks simply live off TARP cash as long as they could? Yet those concerns were unfounded, writes Daniel Gross, because it turned out the government did have an effective motivator: limits on compensation. More»

Bank plans $10.4B stock sale; move will boost EPS

(NEWSER) - Wells Fargo will repay $25 billion in federal bailout funds, becoming the last major national bank to square its TARP account. Part of the money will come from a stock sale that's expected to yield $10.4 billion, the New York Times reports. "We’re ready to fully repay TARP in a way that serves the interests of the U.S. taxpayer, as well as our customers, team members and investors," said CEO John Stumpf. The move also frees the bank from government oversight and the accompanying restrictions on compensation. More»

Fed, Treasury want banks to raise more capital first

(NEWSER) - Citigroup and Wells Fargo are at odds with the government over how much they need to raise to repay their TARP bailouts, with Uncle Sam wanting them to raise more capital first. Both are looking to follow Bank of America’s lead and get out from under the TARP, allowing them to escape federal scrutiny of executive compensation, but they’ve been told to raise more relative to what they’re repaying than BofA did, the Wall Street Journal reports. More»

BofA, Citi, 7 others asked to submit outlines

(NEWSER) - The government is stepping up plans to wind down the TARP program. The Fed has asked nine banks stress-tested earlier this year, including Bank of America and Citigroup, to come up with plans to repay a total of $142 billion in TARP funds. The move represents an evolution in the central bank’s attitude toward the bailout funds it was loathe to take back just months ago. More»

(NEWSER) - CEOs of the nation’s largest banks today assured President Obama they understand their institutions are vital to economic recovery and pledged to do all they can to help the government, Bloomberg reports. Following today’s White House meeting, Wells Fargo’s CEO said “the basic message” of the powwow “is we’re all in this together.” More»