Capital

This year's assessment for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is the first to take into account a January agreement between the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Treasury Department that allowed the companies to retain more earnings.

States have the option of adopting the oversight framework issued by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, which resembles capital and liquidity plan proposed by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Four companies — Regions Financial, MUFG Americas Holdings and the U.S. arms of the Royal Bank of Canada, BMO Financial— felt they had something to prove to the Federal Reserve after being assigned higher capital buffers than most of their peers last year. Will their decisions pay off for shareholders?

The huge buffers that banks built up over the pandemic are protecting the financial system from looming threats, regulators told President Biden during a meeting that also touched on climate change, extension of credit to the underserved and other topics.

Climate First Bank has raised $29 million in initial capital, surpassing the $17 million target set by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

The Maryland company recently raised $345 million to form the subsidiary and fund growth opportunities for its bank.

Organizers of Integrity Bank for Business must raise around $19.9 million before they can open the bank.

The San Francisco company has now backed 11 minority-owned banks as part of a $50 million pledge it announced last year.

The California company has not established a time or pricing for the IPO.

Organizers of the Florida de novo will need to raise $17 million in capital before opening.

The tennis legend will also serve as a strategic adviser on gender equality issues and First Women's Bank, which will be mostly owned and run by women.

The depositor-owned banks are discouraged from participating in the Emergency Capital Investment Program because they can't issue preferred stock to back loans for underserved communities. It's another reason to overhaul their capital rules, mutuals argue.

The de novo, which raised $33 million in initial capital, will become the state's third new bank since the 2008 financial crisis.

Keith Costello, who is looking to form Locality Bank, was president and CEO of First Green Bank when it was sold in 2018.

Organizers of the proposed Our Community Bank still need to raise $18 million before opening.

Payservices would use deposits largely to support its existing business. It has no plans to make loans.

Comerica, Regions and KeyCorp executives say their companies will proceed with caution despite the green light from the Federal Reserve to buy back stock in case they have to cover a surge in loan growth as the economy recovers.

Six startups that seek to cater to Black and Hispanic consumers outside the financial mainstream are attracting heavy interest from investors. However, the new banks will vie with megabanks eyeing those same customers and with established minority-owned institutions suddenly brimming with new capital.

Ingenious Financial in Arlington, Va., is raising $200 million in hopes of buying an existing bank. Bank of Ingenious would focus on professionals such as doctors, dentists and veterinarians.

The bank, formed in 2019 when investors bought and recapitalized Sound Bank, will use the funds to hire lenders and improve its overall infrastructure.