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5 trades on the bank stress tests

Trading the bank stress tests: 5 hot plays
VIDEO1:4201:42
Trading the bank stress tests: 5 hot plays

Citigroup's Federal Reserve stress test marks left some CNBC "Fast Money" traders singing its praises.

"This is arguably the cheapest bank with the most to gain here," said trader Tim Seymour, who owns stock in the bank.

The bank passed the second round of the Fed's stress test after failing to gain approval last year. The Fed on Wednesday rejected capital distribution strategies from U.S. units of Deutsche Bank and Santander while saying Bank of America's approval was contingent on the bank submitting a revised plan.

Read MoreFed flags BofA, 2 others; high-flyers celebrate

The Fed approved capital plans from 28 of 31 tested banks outright as part of the annual test. It gauges how well banks manage risk and their ability to withstand a potential economic shock.

Wells Fargo ATM machines, New York City
Scott Mlyn | CNBC

Trader Karen Finerman currently has more exposure to Bank of America than Citigroup. She will consider changing that weighting after Wednesday's results, she said.

Citigroup said it gained Fed approval for a buyback of up to $7.8 billion in common stock starting in the second quarter of this year. Its shares were up almost 3 percent in extended trading on Wednesday.

Trader Guy Adami looked to "cleaner" banks that have shown "slow and steady growth." He flagged Wells Fargo and U.S. Bancorp in particular, saying that they had room to climb.

Read MoreBanks shares to jump after stress test: History

Wells Fargo and U.S. Bancorp hovered around $54 and $44, respectively, in after-hours trading on Wednesday. Both banks were cleared for dividend increases.

A more expensive name, Goldman Sachs, may also rally in the short term, Adami said. The stock could surge into April, when the bank is expected to report its first-quarter results.

Disclosures:

Tim Seymour

Tim Seymour is long T, BAC, C, DIS, F, GE, GM, GOOGL, INTC and SUNE. Tim's firm is long BABA, BIDU, MCD, NKE, NOK and SBUX.

Brian Kelly

Brian Kelly is long BTC=, U.S. dollar, GLD, CTRL calls, HYG puts, BBRY, BBRY call spreads and TLT. He is short EWA, EWG, EWQ, EWZ, EWW, JJC, Australian dollar, British pound, Canadian dollar, euro, yen and yuan.

Karen Finerman

Karen Finerman is long BABA, BAC, C, FINL, FL, GOOG, GOOGL, JPM, M and KORS. She is short DIA. Her firm is long AAPL, BAC, C, PLCE, CMLS, DIS, FINL, FBT, FL, GOOG, GOOGL, IBB, JPM, M, KORS, XBI, SUNE and URI. Her firm is long calls GPS and URI. Her firm is short MOY, IWM, SPY and USO. Karen Finerman is on the board of GrafTech International.

Guy Adami

Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS and INTC. Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck.