US policy measures to combat the financial crisis should focus more on cutting banks' reliance on government support than pressuring them to lend more – which "is akin to making the same mistake twice" – and should take into account the fact that American banks will earn $1 trillion (€770bn) in internal capital that could offset loan losses over the coming years.

Deutsche analyst Mike Mayo said in a note on US banks yesterday: "Recent policy approaches can be improved. The first goal should be to reduce the dependency of banks on government support as opposed to requiring banks to lend more. Second, we need more clarity regarding what constitutes a minimum capital ratio and under what conditions a bank will get seized."