Well, it would appear that the much-hoped for bump in dividends by big banks will not be materializing anytime soon; fourth quarter earnings squelched that. There may be some who are hoping that compensation cuts can fund higher dividends, but that doesn't seem likely.

There just aren't enough apparent earnings drivers. So we're likely stuck for a while with the likes of Morgan Stanley (MS) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) sticking with their token 5 cents per share, and Goldman Sachs (GS) sticking with its 35 cents per share payout. Which is better than Citigroup (C), which pays zilch on its common shares, and Bank of America (BAC), which pays a penny on its common shares. But, as TheStreet.com notes, the good news is that yields are up, which is cold comfort indeed. And one might conclude that dividends at least are not likely to go lower.  

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