Nearly all major US banks pass Fed 'stress tests'
Source: AP-Excite
By MARCY GORDON and ALEX VEIGA
WASHINGTON (AP) - More than five years after the financial crisis struck, the biggest U.S. banks are better able to withstand a severe recession than at any time since the meltdown, the Federal Reserve has determined.
Results of the Fed's annual "stress tests" showed Thursday that all but one of 30 top banks passed muster with sufficient capital buffers to keep them lending through an economic crisis. Only Zions Bancorp fell short. The results showed continued improvement in banks' financial positions since the 2008 crisis, the Fed said. That built on positive results from last year's tests.
"The industry is stronger and more profitable than a year ago," said RBC Capital Markets banking analyst Gerard Cassidy.
The banks' stronger positions should enable them to pursue business plans, pay dividends to shareholders, raise capital from investors and expand services to customers, said Frank Keating, president of the American Bankers Association.
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In this Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2014, file photo, a person walks past a Citibank location, in Philadelphia. As announced Thursday, March 20, 2014,a ll but one of the nation's 30 largest banks are in a stronger position to withstand a severe U.S. recession and a global downturn than at any time since the financial crisis, the Federal Reserve has determined .(AP Photo/Matt Rourke)