The Federal Reserve said on 27 June that all 22 of the nation’s largest lenders passed its annual stress test, concluding that the industry could withstand a deep recession while remaining above minimum capital requirements. The clean bill of health cleared the way for heftier shareholder distributions. JPMorgan Chase acted first, unveiling on 1 July a US$50 billion share-repurchase programme and lifting its quarterly dividend by 10 cents to US$1.50 a share. Analysts expect several peers that also cleared the test to follow with higher payouts. Second-quarter results released on 15 July underscored the sector’s resilience. JPMorgan posted net income of US$15 billion, or US$5.24 a share, on revenue of US$44.9 billion and raised its 2025 net-interest-income target to about US$95.5 billion. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon said the U.S. economy "remained resilient" but warned that tariffs and geopolitics pose “significant risks,” putting the probability of further interest-rate increases at 40–50 percent. Citigroup earned US$1.96 a share on revenue of US$21.67 billion and narrowed its full-year revenue outlook to roughly US$84 billion. Wells Fargo reported earnings of US$1.60 a share on US$20.82 billion in revenue but trimmed its net-interest-income guidance. Bank of New York Mellon and State Street also exceeded estimates, while asset-manager BlackRock recorded adjusted earnings of US$12.05 a share and assets under management of US$12.53 trillion, an all-time high. With regulators signalling confidence and most banks beating forecasts, Wall Street anticipates a wave of dividend increases and buybacks even as executives caution that tariff policy and the path of U.S. interest rates could yet cloud the outlook.