RSS feedBofA
’BofA to sell First Republic Bank
An investor group led by two buy-out firms, Colony Capital and General Atlantic, is buying First Republic Bank from Bank of America for more than $1bn. Colony and General Atlantic will each have 24.9% of the equity,
BofA’s Lewis to forfeit 2009 pay
Ken Lewis, who will shortly retire as Bank of America chief executive, will receive no pay or bonus for 2009, averting a dispute over the matter with Kenneth Feinberg, the Obama administration’s “pay tsar”.
JPMorgan profits boost Dow
US stocks surged on Wednesday after JPMorgan Chase kicked off the banks’ Q3 results season by announcing its biggest profit since 2007: $3.6bn in Q3 net income. The result easily beat analysts’ expectations and set a high bar for Goldman Sachs,
BofA waives privilege on Merrill case
Bank of America has agreed to a request from the office of Andrew Cuomo, New York attorney-general, to waive the attorney-client privilege that Cuomo claims is preventing him from determining whether to bring charges against BofA’s top executives.
BofA urged to seek outsider
Pressure from institutional investors is building on Bank of America’s board to name an outsider to replace Ken Lewis, who retires as chief executive at year end. Three institutional investors are said to have urged BofA to consider external candidates,
BofA dissidents attack CEO candidates
A dissident group of Bank of America shareholders launched a battle on Wednesday to prevent the beleaguered bank’s board from naming as chief executive one of two men who were deeply involved in the controversial acquisition of Merrill Lynch last year.
BofA narrows list of CEO candidates
Bank of America directors have narrowed the internal candidates to succeed retiring CEO Ken Lewis to the bank’s chief risk officer, Gregory Curl, and small-business banking chief, Brian Moynihan, reports the WSJ.
Merrill upgrade boosts financials
European stocks regained momentum on Tuesday boosted by strength in the financial and oil sectors. Bank stocks rose after the European banking sector was upgraded to “overweight” by BofA-Merrill Lynch,
Merrill’s bull to ride again
Bank of America will spend as much as $20m in the fourth quarter of 2009 to relaunch Merrill Lynch’s name and long-time bull logo, reports Reuters. The former Merrill operations, to be known as Merrill Lynch Wealth Management,
Lewis exit sparks BofA internal clash
The surprise announcement last week by Ken Lewis that he would step down as chief executive of Bank of America has triggered an internal battle among factions, each with its own candidate for the top job.
BofA mulls ‘short-term CEO’
Bank of America’s board of directors, who were “blindsided” by the abrupt decision of CEO Ken Lewis to retire in December, might consider bringing in a temporary CEO who would keep the job for only about two years,
BofA’s Ken Lewis to step down
Ken Lewis, the embattled chief executive of Bank of America, will step down in December, leaving the biggest US lender without a successor. His surprise decision to retire, announced Wednesday night, ends a turbulent eight-year tenure at BofA and comes after Morgan Stanley,
BofA to turn over more documents
Bank of America has agreed to turn over more documents to a congressional probe of its purchase of Merrill Lynch, a lawmaker said on Tuesday, reports Reuters. After a meeting between a bank executive and the chairman of the House oversight committee,
BofA seeks to repay aid
Bank of America on Monday announced several measures to reduce its reliance on federal aid, reports the NYT. The moves are likely to presage a wider effort to repay the many billions of bailout dollars that propped up the bank during the worst of the financial crisis.
Cuomo subpoenas BofA directors
Andrew Cuomo, New York attorney-general, has issued subpoenas to one current and four former board members of Bank of America to testify about BofA’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch. In a widening of his probe,
Court rejects SEC-BofA settlement
A US federal judge on Monday issued a sharp rebuke to the SEC by throwing out a $33m settlement between the regulator and Bank of America, calling the agreement “cynical” and setting the stage for a trial next year,
BofA, SEC justify $33m settlement
Bank of America and America’s SEC were on Wednesday forced to file arguments with a federal judge justifying their $33m settlement in August over allegations of false and misleading statements to shareholders,
BofA sought advice on ‘MAC’ clause
Bank of America executives were so concerned about the worsening financial condition of Merrill Lynch last year that they sought legal advice about the applicability of a “material adverse change” clause before the Dec 5 shareholder vote on the acquisition,
BofA falls on Tarp repayment talk
Bank of America shares fell 6.4% to $16.46 on Tuesday after it emerged it was in talks with the government to repay $20bn of a total $45bn injection of Tarp capital into the lender by the year’s end. The repayment would enable BofA to escape constraints imposed on recipients of Tarp funds,
BofA seeks to partly repay bailout
Bank of America is offering to repay part of its bailout money, and the US is pushing for the bank to pay at least $500m to shelve a tentative pact that would require the government to share its losses on certain assets,
SEC explanation on BofA ‘puzzling’
A US federal judge on Tuesday raised fresh questions about the SEC’s settlement with Bank of America over bonus disclosures, calling the regulator’s explanation for why it did not charge individuals “puzzling”.
SEC adamant on BofA bonuses
The SEC on Monday defended its decision not to charge individuals in Bank of America’s alleged failure to disclose bonuses paid to Merrill Lynch employees before the companies merged, blaming the omission largely on attorneys.
McCann files suit against BofA
Bob McCann, former head of Merrill Lynch’s “thundering herd” of wealth management advisers, filed suit on Monday against Bank of America over the terms of his departure to enable him to accept a job elsewhere.
Warner Chilcott harks back to the good old (leveraged) days
Who said leveraged loans are dead? There were echoes of the good old days of highly leveraged deal-financing with news that specialty drug maker Warner Chilcott is expected to announce as early as Monday the acquisition of Procter & Gamble’s prescription-drug business for more than $3bn.
John Paulson’s ‘success-breeds-success’ strategy
Once again, John Paulson is suggesting by his actions that he knows something we don’t. The zillionaire hedge fund manager – who made billions betting against subprime mortgages and shorting bank stocks over the past two years – has gone big on Bank of America.
Paulson bets big on BofA
John Paulson, the renowned hedge fund manager, has bought close to 2% of Bank of America. The price of BofA stock nearly doubled in the second quarter – when Paulson purchased 168m shares – bringing the value of his holding to $2.2bn as of June 30,
Judge rejects BofA’s SEC settlement
A US federal judge refused to accept a proposed $33m settlement between regulators and Bank of America over allegations it misled investors and urged the SEC at a Monday night hearing to name those at BofA responsible for the alleged misstatements.
Judge delays BofA, SEC settlement
A US federal judge has refused to approve a $33m settlement between the SEC and Bank of America related to BofA’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch, according to a court filing, reports Reuters. Judge Jed Rakoff said the settlement,
Last top Merrill exec leaves BofA
Dan Sontag is leaving his post as head of Merrill Lynch’s 15,000 financial advisers following Sallie Krawcheck’s arrival as his new boss. The move marks the exit of one of the last Merrill veterans from Bank of America’s senior management.
BofA to pay $33m to settle case
Bank of America is to pay $33m to settle US regulators’ claims that it made “materially false and misleading claims” to shareholders about bonuses paid by Merrill Lynch last year. The SEC and Andrew Cuomo,