Financials Fade a bit as Wells Plans TARP Repayment

From MarketWatch.com:

The U.S. financial sector was down slightly in early trading Tuesday with Wells Fargo & Co. pricing an offering of nearly $11 billion of common stock as it became the latest big bank to unveil plans to repay the government's bailout loan.

Wells Fargo announced late Monday that it would raise the money to help fund a repayment of the $25 billion the firm received under the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP. The company is the last of the original, large U.S. banks to agree to pay back the government. See earlier story on Wells Fargo's latest plan to repay TARP.

Wells Fargo shares were up about 1% at last check Tuesday morning.

In the broader sector, the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund was off fractionally. The exchange-traded fund had risen the previous two trading sessions.

Citigroup Inc. shares were off a bit on heavy trading volume. The bank on Monday said it will sell about $20 billion in new securities to repay TARP as it tries to get out from under the government's thumb.