Large U.S. banks expected to clear Federal Reserve’s health check, Reuters says

The largest U.S. lenders are expected to clear the Federal Reserve’s annual health check this year, showing they have capital that can be used to boost dividends, Nupur Anand of Reuters reports. The results of the central bank’s “stress tests” will determine how much cash lenders would need to hold to withstand an economic downturn. This year’s less strenuous methodology means the banks will perform better and return more money to investors via dividends and share buybacks, analysts say. Publicly traded companies in the space include Bank of America (BAC), Citi (C), Goldman Sachs (GS), JPMorgan (JPM), Morgan Stanley (MS), U.S. Bancorp (USB) and Wells Fargo (WFC).