Previously, the government stress test had revealed that Bank of America (BofA) has a deficiency of $33.9 billion in common equity. Now, it seems that the company is fast plugging this loophole. The bank announced its plans to add an extra $26 billion, or as much as 76%, of the $33.9 billion that they were told to raise.

The Charlotte-based bank was able to raise $5.9 billion by exchanging its 436 million common shares into preferred stock. The bank further noted that it might issue an additional 564 common shares in the same scheme. Another source of capital was the sale of its stake in the China Construction Bank Corp. which is worth $13.47 billion. It is highly likely that the BofA will also sell its Columbia Management Group and First Republic Bank units to close the remaining gap.

The BofA statement included stipulations that requires future capital raise to fulfill the regulator’s mandate. In the earlier part of this month, it was revealed that 10 of the nation’s biggest banks need to infuse capital into their system.

Government regulators have asked these institutions to raise common equity levels as the safety net against possible adverse economic situations in the future. In addition, this will provide a sense of security for the banks’ depositors. After the expected announcement, the shares of the company went up 1.5 percent to $11.5.

Other Banks Are Doing the Same

BofA, as the largest US-based bank, does not stand alone in these drastic measures. Several major financing firms such as Citigroup Inc increased its common equity by requesting preferred shareholders to swap their stakes into common shares.

Meanwhile, PNC, the seventh-largest bank today, was asked to raise $600 million by the government. This bank is plugging their shortfall by selling 15 million common shares in a market offering. PNC has also said that it planned to repay the $7.6 billion it took from the TARP program as soon as it was “appropriate”.

Although the TARP has greatly helped the banking sector at the time of crisis, it is seen as a weakness by most. Furthermore, most of the banks it helped does not like the excessive restrictions imposed including its executive pay regulations.

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