stress tests

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BofA Just Showed How Easy It Is to Lose $4B
 BofA Just Showed How Easy It Is to Lose $4B
OPINION

BofA Just Showed How Easy It Is to Lose $4B

Is bank too big to keep track of its assets?

(Newser) - Bank of America canceled a planned share buyback program today, after realizing that it had made a tiny little accounting error—and by "tiny little," we mean "$4 billion." "The market's reaction, with about $10 billion of BofA's market value wiped out, was...

Most Big Banks Pass Stress Test; 4 Fail

Citigroup, SunTrust among those that failed

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve released the results of its latest round of stress tests at the nation's biggest banks, and they're generally being received as good news. Fifteen of the 19 banks passed, which is what outlets such as the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post are highlighting in...

8 Banks in Europe Fail Stress Tests
8 Banks in Europe
Fail Stress Tests

8 Banks in Europe Fail Stress Tests

Another 16 just barely passed

(Newser) - Eight of 90 banks have flunked stress tests that project how they would fare in another recession, and 16 more barely passed, Europe's banking regulator said today. The failing banks should "promptly" take steps to strengthen their financial cushions against losses, the European Banking Authority said as it...

Small Banks May Need More Fed Aid

(Newser) - The Treasury may have to expand its toxic asset programs and repeat stress tests, particularly for smaller banks, a US bailout watchdog panel finds. While larger banks have begun to recover, smaller financial institutions remain exposed to billions in losses from outstanding commercial property loans and are still unable to...

Report Seeks More Bank Stress Tests

First round may have underestimated unemployment

(Newser) - The US should run a second round of bank stress tests if it turns out the government was overly optimistic about the economy in the first round, says a report to be presented to Congress today. The Congressional Oversight Panel, which monitors the bailout, applauded the tests thus far, but...

Banks Raised $56B Since Tests: Geithner

Stress assessments boost confidence, have helped markets heal

(Newser) - Government stress tests boosted confidence in the nation’s biggest banks and helped them raise $56 billion in needed capital, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner told Congress today. His remarks were met by bipartisan skepticism, with members noting that smaller institutions still face severe challenges, the Wall Street Journal reports. “...

BofA Raises $13.5B With Share Sale
BofA Raises $13.5B
With Share Sale

BofA Raises $13.5B With Share Sale

Bank takes big stride towards meeting 'stress test' condition

(Newser) - Bank of America has sold shares to fill $13.5 billion of the $34 billion capital hole the Fed's "stress test" uncovered in the bank's balance sheet, Marketwatch reports. The bank—taking advantage of a 40% jump in its share price over the last month—issued 1.25 billion...

Big Losses Loom at Small Banks

(Newser) - Small and midsize banks across America could face $100 billion in losses from commercial real-estate loans next year, shrinking their capital in most cases to scary lows. The Wall Street Journal conducted worst-case-scenario stress tests on 900 banks and found crises looming far beyond Wall Street. Small and midsize banks...

Some Bank Bosses Face Axe: FDIC Chief

After feds' stress tests comes 'evaluation process,' Bair says

(Newser) - An “evaluation process” following banks’ stress tests will lead to the sacking of some execs, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. chair Sheila Bair tells Bloomberg. “Management needs to be evaluated,” she noted. “Have they been doing a good job? Are there people who can do a better...

This Rally Is for Suckers, Courtesy of the Fed
This Rally Is for Suckers, Courtesy of the Fed
OPINION

This Rally Is for Suckers, Courtesy of the Fed

(Newser) - The Dow has soared a whopping 30% since March 9, but Andy Kessler doesn’t think the good times are here again. “This sure smells to me like a sucker’s rally,” he writes in the Wall Street Journal. Earnings aren’t up. The market is just responding...

Bernanke: Risks Remain Despite Stress Tests

But Fed chief is encouraged by bank response

(Newser) - Big banks' response to "stress tests" has been encouraging but they will need to watch out for risks not covered by the tests, Ben Bernanke warned regulators yesterday. The Fed chief—signaling that investment giants like Goldman Sachs can expect tighter scrutiny—said banks should self-test for potentially disastrous...

Under Pressure, Fed Cooked Some Stress Test Results

(Newser) - In the wake of reports that complaining banks cajoled the Federal Reserve into sweetening some stress test results, the Wall Street Journal looks at the hard numbers. Citigroup, for example, was originally supposed to raise $35 billion; the number eventually released was $5.5 billion. The total for Bank of...

Time to Stress Out About Stress Tests
 Time to Stress Out 
 About Stress Tests 
OPINION

Time to Stress Out About Stress Tests

Washington is leading us to a second crisis: Krugman

(Newser) - Sure, yesterday's release of the stress tests' results felt pretty anti-climatic. But while bankers might be reassured, Americans have no reason to be, writes Paul Krugman. For the New York Times columnist, the less-than-rigorous stress tests are part and parcel of an Obama administration strategy to "muddle through the...

Bank Wrangling Softened 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...

Stress Tests Are Done: 10 Banks Must Raise $75B

(Newser) - It's official: The stress-test results are out, and the feds say 10 of the nation's 19 biggest banks need to raise a total of $75 billion in capital to weather a future downturn, the Wall Street Journal reports. The banks, five of which are regional, are:
  • Bank of America: $33.
...

Stocks Up on Sunny Jobs Data
 Stocks Up on Sunny Jobs Data 
Market Open

Stocks Up on Sunny Jobs Data

(Newser) - Stocks were up again this morning, after promising unemployment numbers, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow rose 53 points, while the Nasdaq and S&P advanced 0.5% and 1% respectively. Wal-Mart reported a strong quarter, pulling retail stocks higher, while banks shot up ahead of stress test results....

Tests Replace 'Uncertainty With Transparency'
Tests Replace 'Uncertainty With Transparency'
OPINION

Tests Replace 'Uncertainty With Transparency'

Tests on the biggest banks will make raising capital, paying it back easier

(Newser) - In an op-ed piece in the New York Times today, Timothy Geithner positions the stress tests—whose results are released officially today—as a way to restore longer-term confidence in the aftermath of the "tentative stability" achieved by the last administration. "We chose a strategy to lift the...

Stress-Tested Banks Need Just $100B

Investors find causes for optimism in capitalization news

(Newser) - Leaked results of the stress tests on America's biggest banks separate sufficiently capitalized banks—including JPMorgan Chase, MetLife, AmEx, and Goldman Sachs—from underfunded ones such as BofA, Wells Fargo, and Citi. Bank shares rose sharply yesterday and today, and some investors said the results were better than they feared....

Banks Spur Gains; Dow Up 102
 Banks Spur Gains; Dow Up 102 
MARKETS

Banks Spur Gains; Dow Up 102

Some institutions gain despite poor stress test results

(Newser) - Stocks were up today as investors digested the stress tests results, the Wall Street Journal reports. Regions Financial and Bank of America were higher, despite results that say they will need additional capital. JP Morgan Chase, which can meet its capital needs, also gained. The Dow gained 101.63 to...

BofA Still Short Whopping $34B

Fed's findings mean government may end up as BofA's majority shareholder

(Newser) - Treasury Department officials have told Bank of America that it's nearly $34 billion in capital short of a passing grade on its "stress tests," sources tell Reuters. The amount is more than triple earlier estimate of BofA's capital needs, and may force the bank to convert the non-voting...

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