Bank of America Corp., the largest U.S. bank, must raise $36.6 billion in equity to bring its capital ratios in line with other big U.S. lenders, Oppenheimer & Co. said in a report Wednesday.
Given investors' reluctance to buy common shares of lenders, B of A is more likely to raise capital by converting preferred stock to common shares or issuing 5.2 billion shares through the Treasury Department's Capital Assistance Plan, Chris Kotowski, an analyst at Oppenheimer, said in the report.
Under the Treasury program, the Charlotte company may issue shares for $6.24 each, the report said.
Oppenheimer cut quarterly earnings estimates for Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley and raised the estimate for Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
