U.S. Fed official's bank capital comments pressure stocks

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Shares of big U.S. banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley dipped on Tuesday after a top Federal Reserve official's warning that the banks could soon face tougher funding restrictions.

Fed Governor Daniel Tarullo said at a U.S. Senate Banking Committee hearing that the biggest banks will face a capital surcharge in excess of requirements agreed to by international regulators, "noticeably so for some firms."

Tarullo said those firms also would face additional capital charges if they use risky short-term funding methods, indicating U.S. regulators intend to remain tough on large banks six years after the financial crisis.

Shares of Goldman Sachs were down 1.2 percent and Morgan Stanley was down 1.8 percent on Tuesday morning, after Tarullo's comments.

"The impact may be meaningful for some banks," analysts from Keefe, Bruyette and Woods said in a note on the remarks.

U.S. and foreign regulators want banks to fund themselves less through debt and more through shareholder equity, in hopes they will be better situated to weather future crises.

International officials have imposed numerous capital requirements on big banks such as JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup , including a surcharge for the largest firms of up to 3.5 percent of their assets.

So far, no banks face that highest surcharge of 3.5 percent. But Tarullo said U.S. regulators were prepared to impose surcharges at the higher end of that range.

"This measure might also create incentives for them to reduce their systemic footprint and risk profile," he said.

(Reporting by Emily Stephenson; Editing by Dan Grebler)

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