Big banks, wisely or not, have been in a frenzy to pay back their TARP obligations, which lead to a massive bout of capital raising. Capital raising in December will end up setting a new record, thanks to the efforts of Citigroup (C), Bank of America (BAC) and Wells Fargo (WFC).

According to the New York Times, here's what the capital raising means for all the banks that underwrote the offerings: Bank of America's $19.3 billion offering generated $482 million in fees; Citigroup's $17 billion offering resulted in $425 million in fees; and Wells Fargo's $12.2 billion offering led to $275.6 million in fees. (The banks paid themselves roughly 2.5 percent of the offering price.)

Here's the interesting part: Those fat fees are likely to lead to bigger bonuses for the bankers involved. At least when it comes to Treasury's upcoming big dump of Citigroup's shares, the bank has agreed to waive fees for Uncle Sam. That would have ignited a firestorm. 

For more:
- here's the article

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