Bank stocks

It was a year to remember for women executives at SunTrust and Amex’s new CEO, and one to forget for Wells Fargo and investors in bank stocks.

Atlantic Equities’ John Heagerty cut his recommendation on JPMorgan Chase to neutral, saying the bank now “offers the least upside” to price targets among the major banks.

While equity prices drop an average 5% at big banks, bosses express confidence in the U.S. economy; the bank appoints new managers in payments, consumer banking and marketing.

U.S. earnings climbed 44% from a year earlier, aided by lower taxes, a widening net interest margin, record contributions from its stake in TD Ameritrade.

The ratings agency said that it views rollbacks of stress-test comparisons and liquidity coverage ratio requirements as "negative" for banks with between $100 billion and $250 billion of assets.

A broad decline in bank stocks and investor concerns about specific companies are among the reasons for a spike in insider purchases.

Berkshire Hathaway plowed $13 billion into bank stocks in the third quarter that included new investments in JPMorgan and PNC and additional investments in Bank of America and Goldman Sachs.