It's been an eventful summer for companies on the stock exchange, so even an active investor could be forgiven for missing a major event in the financial sector -- this year's version of the annual U.S. bank stress tests. For those who might be unfamiliar, these are a series of theoretical exercises aimed at judging whether a bank would be able to withstand severely adverse economic conditions. The tests are conducted by the Federal Reserve, in cooperation with each bank's risk-management team.

Over the past few years, the banks required to undergo the tests (i.e., the ones with over $50 billion in assets) have generally passed with flying colors. Happily for income investors, by proving that they have more than sufficient capital, these companies have the scope to declare fresh dividend raises. 2024 was no different; here's a look at the payout boosts of exactly half of the so-called Big Four American lenders, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC).

Less than a month after the stress test results were released, Bank of America formally declared that its new quarterly payout is to be $0.26 per share. That represents a 8% increase from the previous dividend.

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Source Fool.com