The Department of the Treasury will reveal the results of the so-called
bank stress tests Thursday afternoon. The tests, ordered by the Obama administration, are supposed to show if the nation's largest 19 banks would have enough money to survive the recession.
The report is expected to be released after the stock market closes Thursday, as releasing it during the trading day might cause too much disruption.
Word has leaked that
Bank of America Corp. has been told it will need $34 billion more in capital.
The Wall Street Journal reported that J.P. Morgan Chase and American Express have been told they will not need additional capital.
The truth may well be that the tests, which are part of what the
government has called the Capital Assistance Program, may not tell investors
anything they don't already know.
TheStreet.com, Inc., a financial media company,
lists the banks that are under the microscope, as well as links to their stocks. It's worth keeping an eye on the stocks as information leaks.
"The institutions undergoing stress tests are Citigroup, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs
(GS Quote), JPMorgan Chase
(JPM Quote), Morgan Stanley
(MS Quote), MetLife
(MET Quote), Wells Fargo, PNC Financial Services
(PNC Quote), US Bancorp
(USB Quote), Bank of NY Mellon
(BK Quote), SunTrust
(STI Quote), State Street
(STT Quote), Capital One Financial
(COF Quote), BB&T
(BBT Quote), Regions Financial
(RF Quote), American Express
(AXP Quote), Fifth Third
(FITB Quote), KeyCorp
(KEY Quote) and General Motors'
(GM Quote) GMAC."
