Despite US Fed’s stress tests, investors still get record payouts from banks
Tougher US Federal Reserve stress tests forced some of Wall Street’s top banks to rein in ambitious plans for pumping out cash to shareholders. But even those diminished returns spell a record payout to investors. As the central bank’s annual stress tests ended on Thursday, the nation’s four largest lenders — JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup — said they would distribute more than $110bn through dividends and stock buybacks, sending their stocks higher in late trading. Even shares of Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley — which the Fed blocked from boosting total payouts — held steady. The Fed’s decisions in the test provided some relief for investors after a record 13 straight days of declines in the S&P 500 Financials Index. In the hours after clearing the test, more than 20 firms described how they would reward their owners over the coming four quarters. Wells Fargo planned to boost payouts more than 70% to about $33bn, while JPMorgan signalled a 16% increase...
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