Stressed Out: Fed to Release Bank Test Results in March

Per an announcement Monday, the Federal Reserve will next release stress test results for the 19 largest banks on March 7. A total of 30 banks were required to undergo review, but only the results for the top 19 will be released to the public.

The hope is that these tests, mandated in 2009 by the central bank, will ensure that each of the once “too big to fail” financial institutions will be sturdy enough to survive another recession. They will also be the deciding factors in whether specific banks will be allowed to buy back stocks or distribute dividends. The adverse circumstances outlined by the Fed include: 12 percent unemployment, home prices declining over 20 percent, equity markets in Portugal and Ireland plunging 75 percent, equity markets in China dropping 33.45 percent, and equity markets in the U.S. and the U.K. down 29 percent and 21 percent, respectively.

Six big-time traders in particular — Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), Citigroup (NYSE:C), Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), J.P. Morgan Chase (NYSE:JPM), Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) — will have to consider the potential for global market shock.

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