Shares of banks and other financial institutions were lower amid notable statements from sector heavyweights.

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said Wednesday financial markets have priced in a lot of central bank rate rises and it's up to the U.S. central bank to ratify that situation with continued rate increases.

Meanwhile, JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said U.S. consumers still have some six to nine months of spending power left in their bank accounts.

The head of the nation's biggest bank said the recent drop in Americans' savings rate hadn't altered his view that the government's pandemic stimulus is still padding consumers' wallets. He estimated that some $2 trillion in extra funds are still waiting to be spent.

Wells Fargo & Co. must fix its governance and risk-management issues, the chairman of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee said, highlighting what he called a "laundry list" of consumer abuses and compliance breakdowns.

Meanwhile, the chief executive of Deutsche Bank's asset-management subsidiary DWS Group will step down, the German lender said Wednesday, a day after a raid by German authorities on its Frankfurt offices.

Asoka Woehrmann, who has run the group since late 2018, will resign after DWS Group's annual general meeting on June 9. He will be succeeded by Stefan Hoops, currently head of Deutsche Bank's corporate bank, on June 10.

Ant Group, the Chinese financial-technology giant controlled by billionaire Jack Ma, disclosed that the chairman of the Hong Kong stock exchange's operator has joined its board as the company continues an overhaul following its canceled initial public offering in 2020. Investment capital continues to pour into the crypto space even as the prices of most cryptocurrencies are at half their highs.

Binance Labs, the investment arm of the crypto exchange Binance, announced it closed on a $500 million investment fund with capital from outside firms including DST Global Partners and Breyer Capital.

After working with American Express and AT&T as its marquee sponsors over the past 20 years, the Tribeca Festival will be sponsored starting this year by a less conventional brand in OKX, a cryptocurrency trading exchange launched in Beijing in 2017.


Write to Amy Pessetto at amy.pessetto@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

06-01-22 1711ET