Under Pressure, Fed Cooked Some Stress Test Results

Fed massaged some figures to portray banks as healthy

(NEWSER) - Some major banks managed to cajole the government into using more optimistic figures in its "stress test" results, insiders tell the Washington Post. Banks like Citigroup—eager to show they were healthy and didn't need more help from the government—were given credit for pending moves to raise capital, resulting in the report showing shortages of capital well below what many experts had predicted. More»

Pandit out at Citi?

(NEWSER) - The nation's biggest banks will start to learn how they did on the dreaded stress test today, reports the New York Times. Though the public won’t learn the results until May 4, analysts are predicting that many of the 19 banks will have to raise large amounts of new capital to survive a prolonged recession. Bank of America and Citigroup are thought to be in especially dire straights. 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»

(NEWSER) - The Obama administration is expected to tell 10 of 19 banks receiving "stress tests" to raise more capital as a buffer against possible dark days ahead, the Wall Street Journal reports. Down from a recent estimate that 14 banks needed more money, the list may include Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and Citigroup. Officials plan to start breaking the news to banks tomorrow and release official results Thursday. More»

(NEWSER) - Federal Reserve regulators are urging Bank of America and Citigroup to raise more capital, based on their preliminary stress test results, sources tell the Wall Street Journal. Sources familiar with Bank of America say the shortfall numbers in the billions. But both banks are protesting, with Bank of America expected to issue a detailed appeal today. More»