Fed: Banks have raised needed capital

WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- The Federal Reserve Board said Monday nine of the 10 U.S. bank holding companies needing to raise capital have met or exceeded their required capital buffers.

The Supervisory Capital Assessment Program this year determined the BHCs needed to raise capital or improve the quality of their capital to withstand a worse-than-expected economic scenario.

The 10th bank holding company, GMAC, is expected to meet its remaining buffer needs by accessing the federal government's Troubled Assets Relief Program's Automotive Industry Program. GMAC is in discussions with the U.S. Treasury on the structure of its investment, the Fed said.

The SCAP review determined the BHCs needed to augment their capital by $74.6 billion, almost all of it in the form of common or contingent common capital, by Monday.

The FED said the BHCs took the following actions:

-- New issuance of common equity or other eligible securities of $39 billion.

-- Conversion of existing preferred equity to common equity in the amount of $23 billion.

-- Sales of businesses or portfolios of assets that increased common equity by $9 billion.