Bank stocks

Political contributions from Wall Street rose, but did they influence policy?; bank stocks post biggest monthly gain since President Trump was elected.

CEO Kessell Stelling said he thinks about Synovus' depressed stock price daily, even though his team is ahead of schedule cutting costs from a deal that closed in January.

The company could use its share of proceeds from the IPO to repay debt and pursue bank acquisitions.

The company plans to use the new capital to pursue growth opportunities.

The French banking giant has spent months winding down its holdings in the $20 billion-asset bank.

Shareholder approval, usually a formality, is far from guaranteed when an acquirer's share price is sliding.

New CEO Ronald O'Hanley is pushing to reduce expenses, automate more functions and simplify the organizational structure.

There had been a cascade in recent days of downgrades and other negative forecasts in connection with big banks, but some analysts on Wednesday picked up the industry's argument that fundamentals are stronger than the markets are giving banks credit for.

Investors are spooked by banks' exposure to oil and other sectors threatened by a global slowdown as well as by policy uncertainties, but banks argue credit quality is strong and recession fears are exaggerated.