US regulators tell biggest banks their plans in case of failure are inadequate

Federal regulators have told the biggest banks in the U.S. that their plans for unwinding their operations in case of failure are inadequate to prevent the sort of financial disaster that struck in 2008 and led to a massive government bailout.

The Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Tuesday criticized as "not credible" the so-called "living wills" that the 11 largest banks were required to submit under the 2010 law overhauling financial regulation. The banks, with $50 billion or more in assets, include Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley.

The regulators say the banks' plans make unrealistic assumptions about likely developments in case of failure. The regulators gave the banks until July 2015 to come up with improved plans or face possible stricter regulation.