Banks await verdict from capital adequacy tests

US authorities prepare to release results of a series of stress tests conducted on 19 financial institutions to ascertain whether any are in need of immediate capital assistance

Continued silence from US authorities on the results of bank stress tests has left markets and analysts alike fretting over which firms are in need of additional capital. Recent reports have suggested that Bank of America and Citi, in particular, are in need of more cash.

Both the banks suffered from share price falls on the back of the news. From a level of $8.92 at closing on April 27, Bank of America had slumped to an intraday low of $8 by 9:30am on April 28. It had rebounded to $8.15 by close