Financial Winners & Losers: Bank of America

The financial sector rose Tuesday on reports of several deals, showing that there are still some strong players left in the banking sector, despite housing-related losses, accelerating credit costs and a decline in share prices across the industry.

The NYSE Financial Sector index recently gained 1.3% to 6,404.61 and the KBW Bank index rose 2.9% to 67.92. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 0.9% to 11,651.02, with financial stocks like Bank of America (BAC Quote), AIG (AIG Quote), American Express (AXP Quote) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM Quote) leading the charge, with gains of almost 2% or more.

Bank of America was recently up 4.3% at $32.48 after a Goldman Sachs analyst initiated coverage with a "Buy" rating, citing an outlook for stronger earnings and capital growth relative to its peers.

Regions Financial (RF Quote) surged 16.4% to $10.79 as the company began operating five former Integrity Bank branches. Regions agreed to assume $900 million worth of its regional competitor's assets after Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. took over the failed bank late last week.

Lehman Brothers rose again to $16.53, up 2.7%, after Korea Development Bank confirmed reports that it is pursuing a deal to acquire at least a partial stake in the firm.

IntercontinentalExchange (ICE Quote) was up 5.6% to $92.98 on buyout news as well. The online exchange for commodities and derivatives said Tuesday it had closed a $513 million acquisition of Creditex, a credit-default swap company.

PacWest(PACW Quote) rose almost 14% to $25.77 after the California bank said it had issued $100 million worth of new stock to CapGen Financial.