Brits Prep for EU Split; Banks Pass Stress Tests

Receiving Wide Coverage

This is not a drill: Britain has voted to leave the European Union in a stunning outcome to Thursday's referendum. The decision is already shaking the markets and will reshape the country's place in the world for years, if not decades to come. Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Financial Times, Washington Post

Sighs of relief: Though they now have plenty else to deal with in the wake of Britain's vote, the nation's top banks got some good news Thursday in the form of an "all clear" signal on the first part of the Federal Reserve's annual stress tests.

All 33 banks that participated were found to have sufficient buffers to withstand a hypothetical downturn, despite estimated collective losses of roughly half a trillion dollars.

Next week is when things get interesting: regulators will share whether they've approved banks' plans to return capital to shareholders via dividends or buybacks. Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Financial Times, Washington Post

Case closed: Bank of America finalized a $415 million settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday over allegations that its Merrill Lynch brokerage arm misappropriated billions of dollars of client money to back its own trades. Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Financial Times

Lights, camera: Goldman Sachs will toss out first-round, in-person interviews at elite college campuses in favor of video-based discussions. The idea is to cast a wider net for diverse applicants and boost retention. Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Financial Times

Wall Street Journal

Closer look: Bank regulators are eyeing possible oversight measures for online lenders that provide loans to small-businesses.

Global sharing: Online payments startup Circle Internet Financial — which allows users to transfer money via blockchain — is expanding its operations into China.

New York Times

Big box woes: Costco's attempt to switch to Visa cards this week has proven to be a "customer service fiasco." The retailer announced it was ending its exclusive contract with American Express last year.

Can't catch a break: The Credit Suisse pile-on continues with another look at the bank's struggles — this time a profile of its chief of credit products, who was the architect of a failed syndicated loan product more than a decade ago.