The U.S. banks reported a very solid, albeit messy, fourth quarter, completing the first year of what we expect to be a three year recovery. Of interest, this quarter saw the banks buck a very powerful historical trend in credit, as credit losses (or net charge-offs, NCOs) declined in Q4 versus Q3. This bodes very well for not only the durability of the credit recovery, but…
Insights: Banks
Expected Dividend Increases = More Evidence of Belief in Recovery
In January, the “stress test” banks (i.e., those 19 institutions stress-tested under the U.S.’s Supervisory Capital Assessment Program in 2009) submitted capital plans to the Federal Reserve, many of which (JPM, WFC, PNC) are expected to have included requests to raise their dividends. For these banks, dividend increases (and buybacks of any size) have been on hold until the Federal Reserve gives its blessing, while some…