Wall Street banks, forecasting an improved economy, pare their rainy-day funds.

Wall Street banks, forecasting an improved economy, pare their rainy-day funds.

Wall Street banks, forecasting an improved economy, pare their rainy-day funds.“We continued to see signs of a recovery,” Bank of America's chief executive, Brian Moynihan, said in a statement.Credit...Gian Ehrenzeller/EPA, via ShutterstockBy Emily FlitterThe global pandemic ravaging American businesses and low-wage employees has barely lapped at the revenues and profits of the country's biggest banks. Now, banks are saying that the worst of the pandemic's potential to do them harm has passed.Bank of America revealed on Tuesday that it had adjusted its calculations for how much cash it needed to set aside for a disaster, joining other large American banks in releasing some rainy-day funds based on an improved economic forecast. Goldman Sachs also said on Tuesday that it had adjusted its reserves, lowering them for some of its businesses while raising them slightly for its new consumer credit card division.The banks can now use their freed-up cash to do things they avoided last year, like making new loans. They are also preparing to start distributing money to shareholders again after the Federal Reserve lifted temporary restrictions on share buybacks and dividend payments late last year.“We continued to see signs of a recovery, led by increased consumer spending, stabilizing loan