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Empresas y finanzas

U.S. banks sell shares to repay TARP


    NEW YORK (Reuters) - Two large U.S. banks, U.S. Bancorp and Bank of New York Mellon Corp , conducted big stock sales as they look to repay taxpayer bailout funds, after the government concluded they have enough capital to withstand a deep recession.

    U.S. Bancorp sold $2.5 billion of stock, comprising 139 million shares at $18 each. Bank of New York Mellon sold about $1.2 billion of stock, 20 percent more than expected, comprising 42 million shares at $28.75 each.

    The shares priced at 3 percent discounts to Monday closing prices, which is normal for secondary stock offerings. Both offerings may grow 15 percent to meet investor demand. The banks announced the pricing terms on Tuesday.

    BB&T Corp , which regulators concluded also does not need a bigger capital cushion, is expected to sell $1.5 billion of stock.

    The banks are among 19 large lenders that recently underwent federal "stress tests" to measure their capital needs, and were among nine deemed to have sufficient capital.

    U.S. Bancorp took $6.6 billion from the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program, known as TARP, while Bank of New York Mellon took $3 billion, and BB&T $3.1 billion.

    Capital One Financial Corp , which took $3.55 billion from TARP and also got a clean bill of health from the government, on Monday sold $1.55 billion of stock.

    Wells Fargo & Co and Morgan Stanley , found under their stress tests to need more capital, sold a respective $8.6 billion and $4 billion of stock on Friday.

    TARP was designed to spur lending and improve the economy. Many banks now view the program as a burden because it imposes too many restrictions, including on pay, and suggests that recipients are weak.

    Banks say it is up to regulators to decide when TARP funds can be repaid. The government does not want banks to repay the funds, only to find later that they need more.

    Lenders hoping to escape TARP must also agree on prices to take back warrants to buy stock, which the government received in return for the infusions. Most banks pay 5 percent dividends on the government investments.

    In morning trading, U.S. Bancorp shares were down 3.8 percent to $17.79, Bank of New York Mellon fell 2.8 percent to $28.71, and BB&T fell 4.4 percent to $23.26.

    (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)