Dividends Coming from BAC, C, JPM, GS, WFC Soon?

Measured by banks' capital ratios at the end of 2009, after they had completed raising capital for the stress tests, to ratios at the end of 2010, it appears Bank of America (NSYSE:BAC), Citigroup (NYSE:C), Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC), Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) and JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) are positioned to offer dividends or buy back shares in the near future.

As Motley Fool notes, The Tier 1 capital ratio represents Tier 1 capital -- common and preferred stock, retained earnings and reserves -- divided by the bank's assets. The Tier 1 common ratio is similar, but it excludes preferred stock and a few other items. Both ratios measure a bank's ability to hold up in bad times. Regulators define 'Well Capitalized' as more than a 6% Tier 1 Capital ratio, but as the recent meltdown showed, that bar isn't always high enough."

"All five banks have increased capital ratios over the past year. That isn't surprising, given bank earnings over the past year and stabilization in the financial sector. Fed regulators will consider asset risk and other factors in addition to capital ratios in their evaluations. One factor that wasn't part of the 2009 stress tests will be banks' plans to comply with Basel III capital requirements," they added.

Bank of America was trading at $14.16, down $0.22, down $1.50 percent, as of 2:23 PM EDT. Citigroup was at $4.51, down $0.06, or 1.31 percent. JPMorgan was trading at $45.05, down $0.69, or 1.51 percent. Goldman Sachs was at $158.45, down $2.22, or 1.38 percent. Wells Fargo was at $31.94, down $0.44, or 1.36 percent.





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