GM Generali

Generali (AQEU:GM)
Historical Stock Chart

From Jul 2019 to Jul 2024

While bank executives are still muddling through stress-test results, their communication managers are wrestling with the question about how and what to tell the public.

The big day for the unveiling of the results is Thursday, May 7.

Interviews with heads of corporate-communication and public-relations departments at a number of the 19 stress-tested banks revealed an intense struggle to come up with a plan to reassure investors, counterparties and customers. Communications from the banks may be critical even for those whose bill of health is reasonably clean.

Those deemed short of capital face a daunting task to keep their heads above water, PR executives and lawyers said.

Banks are under a gag order from regulators not to disclose anything about the stress test, but the Federal Reserve, which conducts the test, has made clear that it will disclose certain details about the capital position and capital needs of individual banks.

That pending disclosure puts banks in a pickle. Some banks are considering holding formal conference calls with investors complete with presentation charts; others say they would like to stay mum and leave the disclosure to the regulators.

The silent treatment may not be a viable option, given the intense interest the public (and short sellers) will take in the test results, and the bankers' legal requirement to disclose material information.

"There is going to be some soul searching about whether the information the Treasury is giving [the banks] is material," said John Douglas, chair of the Global Bank Regulatory Practice and former general counsel at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. "I wish there were crisp answers. But this is not a crisp process."

Bob Stickler, a spokesman for Bank of America Corp. (BAC), said, "Our bias is to be pro-active and give investors the opportunity to understand" the findings, particularly if the bank was told to raise capital.

A PR manager of a bank that hasn't decided what to do said "a quick analyst call might be necessary," if only to reiterate some of the points executives have made before about strategy and capital.

Some banks have set up a menu of plans and will decide next week which to choose.

The 19 banks that were stress tested range from consumer lenders like American Express Co. (AXP) and GMAC LLC to banks like JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) , Regions Financial Corp. (RF), KeyCorp (KEY) and SunTrust Banks Inc. (STI).

Those declared in good shape might escape any legal requirement to hand out more information. But some who expect a good grade said they still plan to issue a press release on the results with a statement from the chief executive, if only to give their own employees talking points in their conversations with customers.

Others plan to simply disclose the information from the Fed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Those considered in need of more capital will need to prepare disclosures, not only for the sake of public relations, but also because such information about their current capital base and future plans may well be considered material, Douglas said.

"This is the hardest issue" of all for banks, he said. Counterparties and depositors need to be reassured and shareholders need to be appeased in a market where short sellers will prey on the weakest.

One tricky question: What to say when regulators deem a bank's capital sufficient, but require the conversion of preferred stock into common to strengthen common equity? Technically, such a move may not be a capital raise. But investors are unlikely to see it as good news. "It might as well be a capital raise" and need some explaining, one spokesman conceded.

-By Matthias Rieker, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5936; matthias.rieker@dowjones.com