Stress test worries turned vivid and tangible for Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) , told by the U.S. Treasury it would need to make up a $33.9 billion shortfall.

Glaring headlines put the Charlotte, N.C., firm's financial troubles back into focus and rattled through financial stocks. The Financial Times said Wednesday that British banks were shaken by the news with share values falling 0.5 percent at Lloyds Banking Group PLC (ADR) (Public, NYSE:LYG) and 1.8 percent at Barclays in midday trading.

The stress tests results went both ways.

Citigroup (NYSE:C).was told to come up with $50 billion to $55 billion, but Bank of New York Mellon, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are expected to be let off the hook and may be allowed to repay the Troubled Asset Relief Program funds they have accepted from the governmen, The New York Times reported.

Already loaned $45 billion by the government, Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) will have six months to raise the additional capital and may have to sell some assets. Citigroup, however, has already made arrangements to convert the government's preferred shares into common stock, which will give the government voting shares and a bigger stake in the company. The conversion, however, would leave Citigroup as much as $10 billion short of regulator's demands, the Times said.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) could convert shares, too, although protests could come with that decision. Nationalizing banks has been a step banks and politicians have been reluctant to do.

Playing down the urgency, Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) n's Chief Administrative Officer J. Steele Alphin said there are "several ways," to raise capital, adding, "the company is very healthy."

Healthy or not, Alphin said the bank argued with regulators to reduce the size of its shortfall. At least in part, Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) 's motivation was to convince investors the firm was on sound footing, especially as rival banks were likely to be given the Treasury's seal of approval.

"We're not happy about it because it's still a big number," Alphin said. "We think it should be a bit less at the end of the day."

In Asian markets, the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong jumped 2.46 percent, the Singapore Straits Times bolted up 5.05 percent. The S&P/ASX in Australia dropped 0.6 percent.

In midday trading, major European markets climbed modestly. The FTSE in London was up 0.71 percent, while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt gained 0.13 percent. The CAC 40 in Paris gained 0.81 percent, while the broader DJStoxx 600 rose 0.8 percent.