The Fed's 1-Cent-a-Share Dividend Cap

Antony Currie wants a bit more clarity on why the Federal Reserve seems to be happy with Bank of America paying a dividend of 1 cent per quarter, but unhappy with a dividend of 5 cents per quarter. “It’s not clear,” he writes, “whether the Fed is worried about BofA’s core earnings falling short or about potential losses being higher than the bank projected, to pick a couple of possible concerns.” My feeling is that the Fed’s logic wasn’t nearly that granular. There are basically three states that a bank can be in: it can pay no dividends at all; it can pay the minimum possible token dividend of 1 cent per quarter; or it can pay out a full and generous dividend. The Fed, in the wake of its latest stress tests, has determined that both Citigroup (C) and Bank of America belong in the middle group. They can... Read more

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