The financial downturn has definitely taken its toll on a lot of banking companies. Undeniably one of the worst hit was Citigroup. Now, it seems that the company’s disgrace is not yet over. The Dow Jones Industrial announced that Citigroup Inc will be delisted from the index. It will be replaced by Travelers Cos (TRV) in the flagship 30-stock index, starting June 8.

Since mid-January, the shares of Citigroup were already trading at below $5. In fact, it even dropped as low as 97 cents on March 5 after huge losses were announced and the government had to bail them out. Currently, it is estimated that taxpayers actually owns up to 34 percent of Citigroup. Who would have thought that this would happen to the world’s largest bank?

Established in 1998 with the merger of the Travelers Group and Citicorp, it was nicknamed as a “financial supermarket” because it carried virtually all financial products in the market. Later on, the company spun off its Travelers’ arm. The removal of Citigroup signals the end of company’s 12-year status on the Dow Jones Index.

Explaining why it took some time before Citigroup was removed from the Dow despite months of weak performance; the Dow Jones Editor-in-Chief Robert Thomson explains “We were reluctant to remove Citigroup at the height of the financial frenzy”. The editor further added that they hoped the company can rejoin the Dow in the future once it has refashioned itself.

In an effort to assume investors and the public, Citigroup said that this development will not affect the bank’s strategy to get back to sustained profitability. Another interesting bit of news is that Citigroup has started a brokerage venture together with Morgan Stanley (MS). The bank will transfer its Smith Barney subsidiary to get $2.75 billion and a 49 percent share in the new venture.

With the delisting of Citigroup, only two banks are left standing: JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM) and Bank of America (BAC). There are still other financial services companies in the Dow though. For example, General Electric Co (GE) and American Express Co (AXP) both have financial arms. Previously, Kraft Foods Inc (KFT) has replaced the American International Group (AIG) in the Dow.

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.

Everyone is aware that today’s current financial system is problematic and the Obama administration is now trying to do something about it. Last Wednesday, the government sought to gain more authority over the financial instrument referred to as derivatives. These derivatives played a significant role in the collapse of the financial market following the huge drop in home prices.

Trying to right the wrong, the administration has encouraged Congress to pass on a legislation that will permit federal oversight on the previously deregulated industry. It will enable the government to oversee various types of instruments including the credit-default swap which nearly caused American International Group (AIG) to collapse until the government bailout.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the proposal will require derivatives to be traded on clearinghouses that are backed by capital reserves. This works similar to the capital cushions banks are required to have for when a borrower can’t make good on a loan. These, along with the new rules will be most costly for all parties including the dealers, the buyers, and the issuers. Despite its expensive price tag though, this move will force a majority of derivatives to be traded out in the open. This reduces the role of the banking system that has surrounded them in the past.

According to Geithner, the “financial crisis was caused in large part by significant gaps in the oversight of the markets”, the proposal aims to clean up the system. If it pushes through, the trading of derivatives will become more transparent. Regulators will also be authorized to limit the number of derivatives an institution is allowed to sell or hold.

In addition, the Obama administration wants to repeal important portions of the Commodity Futures Modernization Act which was implemented in the December of 2000. Previously, it was backed by Democrats and Republicans alike with heavy lobbying from Wall Street.

Fortunately, the proposed change is well-received in Congress, for the Democrats in particular. The move has long been expected. In fact, experts in the financial industry even say that it is inevitable because everyone understands that changes need to happen. Steven Elmendorf said that “the only question is how the change happens.” From the looks of things, it seems like everyone is about to find out.

Wanting to leave its own problems behind, auto and mortgage-financing firm GMAC LLC has dropped its own name and re-launched itself as Ally Bank. The company has been suffering from billions of dollars in losses since the mortgage crisis hit. Currently, it has an $11.5 billion in capital shortfall.

The bank’s chief marketing officer, Sanjay Gupta, has revealed that the company wanted to new name that will eliminate the baggage that most banks have to deal with after they received billions in bailout money. Last December, GMAC received $6 billion in bailout money including $5 billion from the Trouble Asset Relief Program.

Plugging the Capital Shortfall

“Ally” was selected as the new name because of its implications that the bank is a friend and a trusted partner for consumer’s banking needs. Gupta said that, it contains the “attributes we are trying to convey”. GMAC LLC expects that this move will help them gain more customers. The new image is expected to attract retail depositors which are a crucial funding source with today’s credit squeeze.

The improved bank deposits will help fill the gaping $11.5 billion capital hole as was revealed in the stress test results. Nineteen banks took the so-called stress test and ten banks, including GMAC, were told to raise their capital. Despite all strategies on the contrary though, many experts still believe that the company will need another bailout in order to survive.

Attracting Retail Deposits

Long before GMAC LLC decided to rename itself as Ally Bank, it was already offering above-industry average industry yields for consumers. A lot of lenders have tried this strategy since the financial crisis hit in 2007. Ally Bank will offer a 2.8 percent rate on a one-year certificate of deposit even if the industry average is around 2.29 percent.

This strategy appeared to work. The bank’s deposit showed a significant increase during the first quarter. It experienced 16.5 percent improvement to $22.5 billion which is broken down as $11 billion in retail deposits, $9.5 billion in brokered deposits, and $2 billion in other types of deposits. In addition, Ally Bank expects more federal funding because of its status as the preferred lender for vehicles made by the now-bankrupt Chrysler LLC.