Is Outside Capital Enough to Help Financial ETFs?

Beleaguered financial-sector exchange traded funds (ETFs) were hoping for a reprieve after two banks announced a bit of good news today.

Merrill Lynch (MER) announced that it was going to get $6.6 billion from three foreign funds, reports Stephen Bernard of the Associated Press. The move will allow the company to broaden its worldwide relationships and operations, and investors will receive a 9% dividend.

Minutes after that announcement, Citigroup (C) said that it’s lined up $12.5 billion in new investments, according to Madlen Read of the Associated Press. The bank also cut its quarterly dividend by 41%. That, paired with the investments, will help boost its Tier 1 capital ratio, a measure of its financial strength.

Merril Lynch was down 4.7% today and Citigroup lost over 7%.

Some of the financial ETFs that could feel the good news are:

• Ultra Financials ProShares (UYG), Citigroup is 6.9%; Merrill Lynch is 1.8%
• iShares Dow Jones US Financial Sector (IYF), Citigroup is 5.5%; Merrill Lynch is 1.6%
• Vanguard Financials (VFH), Citigroup is 7.1%; Merrill Lynch is 1.8%