From StreetInsider.com:

“S&P placed the ratings of 23 financial companies on rating watch negative. Some firms on the list include U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB), PNC (NYSE: PNC), KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY), Regions Financial (NYSE: RF), Huntington Bancshares Inc. (Nasdaq: HBAN), Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE: SNV), Fifth Third Bancorp (Nasdaq: FITB) and Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC).”

From StreetInsider.com:

“Following results from the government’s bank stress test, officials have toldWells Fargo’s (NYSE: WFC) Board to shore the company’s balance sheet as, in the current state, the bank will “have trouble surviving a deeper recession.”

From FT:

“Citigroup and Bank of America are working on plans to raise more than $10bn each in fresh capital, even as they launch last-ditch attempts to convince the US government they do not need to bolster their balance sheets. People close to the situation said Citi, BofA and at least two other lenders will on Monday attempt to convince the Treasury and the Federal Reserve that the findings of “stress tests” into their financial health were too pessimistic.”

From Reuters, Felix Salmon:

“…it’s a bit rash to take anything to do with the stress tests, including this report, at face value….Stress test results are material non-public information, so who would be so foolish as to leak these things — especially when the leaks seem to be coordinated in a tactical manner? (The WSJ and the NYT had almost identical stories on Saturday saying that Citi would need to raise $10 billion, both citing completely anonymous sources.)”

We predict the government’s attempts at orchestration of leaks is going to come back to bite them…