A complete rethinking of the mega-banks needs to start today. The behemoth banks are much too big (to fail), but also too big to manage and keep afloat. They used their size during the credit boom to piece together massive deals for corporate clients, but now that the bubble has burst, the problems are too big for everyone. There was a reason for the Depression-era banking laws -- but of course, the Republicans never cared much for history. Especially, successful programs from FDR or any Democrat. Let's see if we have Democrats who aren't afraid of *real* change or Democrats who want to offer GOP-lite programs.
Bank of America Corp. needs more than $80 billion in new common equity capital to support the huge amount of assets on its balance sheet, an analyst said Tuesday.
Friedman, Billings, Ramsey's Paul Miller also said Wells Fargo & Co. probably will have to cut its dividend soon as that bank tries to boost capital.
Shares of Bank of America slumped 29% to close at $5.10 on Tuesday. That's the lowest level since late 1990. Wells Fargo lost 24% to close at $114.23, the lowest level in roughly a decade.
