Bank of America and other banks anticipate casting off the TARP yoke

As financial institutions in the U.S. make every effort to go out of Washington scrutiny Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase & Co along with several other banks reported that they have raised more than $19 billion. Lenders want to prove to the regulators they are capable to function without their support. Next week is scheduled by the Federal Reserve as the time to announce which of the top 19 banks can repay taxpayer money.

"Markets are providing an avenue for banks of all sizes and stripes to raise money unless you are at death's door," said Gary Townsend, co-founder of Hill-Townsend Capital in Chevy Chase, Maryland. "The market also seems to be making an assessment that credit problems are manageable and that the environment is improving. In my view, that is correct."

JPMorgan sold $5 billion of stock, Morgan Stanley $2.2 billion and American Express Co $500 million at a discount to Monday's prices after the Fed imposed new capital-raising requirements on large banks hoping to repay the Treasury Department's Troubled Asset Relief Program. Goldman Sachs Group Inc, which also hopes to exit TARP, sold $1.9 billion of its stake in Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.

Bank of America in turn raised close to $33 billion since early May, including $7 billion over six days, closing nearly all of the $33.9 billion capital shortfall that regulators found through its stress test. The company expects to even exceed that amount.