Stock Deals Follow Stress Tests, Boosting Fees On Wall Street

Some of the Wall Street investment banks being required to raise new capital are also benefitting from the government's demands.

The Federal Reserve's stress test requires the 10 top U.S. banks to raise about $75 billion within the next six months as a way to bolster their balance sheets. That request is also drumming up business for the investment banks that specialize in underwriting stock deals for the financial services industry.

On Monday alone, several financial companies tapped the market to collectively sell more than $7 billion in stock. U.S. Bancorp (USB), Capital One Financial Corp. (COF), KeyCorp (KEY), Principal Financial Group Inc. (PFG) and BB&T Cop. (BBT) all announced offerings.

There are also a number of deals expected to flood the market from banks that received money under the Treasury Department's Troubled Assets Relief Program that have become subject to increased government scrutiny, such as limits on executive pay. Financial companies like JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) and American Express Co. (AXP) have said they plan to repay TARP funds by raising equity.

These stock offerings will help pump up fees for the banks that advised on the offerings. For instance, Morgan Stanley's (MS) bankers advised on Monday's stock offerings from U.S.Bancorp, BB&T and KeyCorp.

Some banks also stand to benefit from giving advice to themselves in deals. Goldman advised itself in a $5.75 billion share sale last month, while Wells Fargo was one of the bookrunners in its $8.6 billion stock deal last week.

Lead underwriters on follow-on offerings typically charge a fee of roughly 5% of the overall deal value. By comparison, initial public offerings command a fee of between 6% and 7%.

The group of banks that stand to benefit the most from underwriting include both big and small firms. Last year, JPMorgan was the top lead underwriter for both stock and debt underwriting for bank and thrift equity deals, according to data provided by SNL Financial.

Other firms listed in the top 10 include Bank of America (BAC), Goldman Sachs, Citigroup Inc. (C), Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC), Morgan Stanley, UBS, HSBC Holdings PLC (HBC) and Barclays PLC's Barclays Capital (BCS). Boutique shops like SunTrust Corp.'s (STI) Robinson Humphrey unit, Keefe Bruyette & Woods Inc. (KBW), Raymond James & Associates Inc. (RJF), Sandler O'Neill & Partners LP, Stifel Financial's (SF) Stifel Nicolaus & Co., Fox-Pitt Kelton, and Friedman Billings Ramsey & Co. Inc. (FBR) were also active in advising banks and thrifts with equity deals, according to SNL.

-By Joe Bel Bruno, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-4047; [e-mail]