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  1. #1
    Senior Member AirborneSapper7's Avatar
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    Bank of America to shut over 600 branches

    Bank of America to cut branches

    Customers prefer mobile banking, bank officer says.

    Posted by Elizabeth Strott on Tuesday, July 28, 2009 8:42 AM

    Bank of America (BAC) will soon cut about 10% of its 6,100 branches across the country, The Wall Street Journal reported this morning.

    CEO Ken Lewis discussed the plans at a meeting last week in Charlotte, N.C., according to the report. Liam McGee, president of Bank of America's consumer and small-business bank, confirmed that branch closures are in the works but said it would be premature to specify how many locations could be closed, the report said, citing people close to the situation.

    McGee said that shifting consumer preferences were behind the closures. As more people bank online and through their cell phones, fewer physical branches are needed, the report said.

    Neither Lewis nor McGee said when the branches would be closed.

    Rochdale Securities analyst Dick Bove has a differing opinion as to why B of A is closing branches: "They are not economically viable," he wrote in a note to clients. "The branches are likely to be closed for three reasons: a) branch economics are changing; b) the need for positioning has been reduced; and c) the fear of regulation suggests closing branches now makes sense," Bove wrote.

    "When America was building new houses in the millions; it was creating new neighborhoods. Banks competed with each other to get branches into the new communities in the choicest locations. Branches were often built in supposed choice locations just to keep the competitors out. This strategy has now been abandoned. Many of the new communities have been abandoned. These branches need to be abandoned," Bove said.

    At the end of 2008, Bank of America's retail banking operations could be found across approximately 82% of the U.S. population, in 32 states. The company holds 12.2% of all U.S. deposits, according to SNL Financial.

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    Rivals Wells Fargo (WFC) has 6,668 branches in 39 states after acquiring Wachovia last year; JPMorgan Chase (JPM) has about 5,100 U.S. branches, after closing 390 former Washington Mutual branches.

    The pullback comes as Bank of America continues with its integrations of Merrill Lynch and Countrywide Financial.

    http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/In ... =1,1206456
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    Senior Member WorriedAmerican's Avatar
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    Re: Bank of America to shut over 600 branches

    What happened???

    Didn't the illegals have enough money to put in their accounts?
    If Palestine puts down their guns, there will be peace.
    If Israel puts down their guns there will be no more Israel.
    Dick Morris

  3. #3
    Senior Member Ratbstard's Avatar
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    Re: Bank of America to shut over 600 branches

    Quote Originally Posted by WorriedAmerican
    What happened???

    Didn't the illegals have enough money to put in their accounts?
    Good One!
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  4. #4
    April
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    I was in a local bank yesterday and heard that Wells Fargo and Citibank are in big trouble right now. SO MUCH FOR ALL THAT WASTED BAILOUT MONEY!!! THEIVES!!!!

  5. #5
    Senior Member WorriedAmerican's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by April
    I was in a local bank yesterday and heard that Wells Fargo and Citibank are in big trouble right now. SO MUCH FOR ALL THAT WASTED BAILOUT MONEY!!! THEIVES!!!!
    Citibank is paying that guy a $100 million dollar bonus.
    Trouble?????
    If Palestine puts down their guns, there will be peace.
    If Israel puts down their guns there will be no more Israel.
    Dick Morris

  6. #6
    April
    Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by WorriedAmerican
    Quote Originally Posted by April
    I was in a local bank yesterday and heard that Wells Fargo and Citibank are in big trouble right now. SO MUCH FOR ALL THAT WASTED BAILOUT MONEY!!! THEIVES!!!!
    Citibank is paying that guy a $100 million dollar bonus.
    Trouble?????
    Yeah no matter how much trouble there is they will continue padding pockets. Greed knows no bounds.

  7. #7
    Senior Member AirborneSapper7's Avatar
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    Citi ‘milestone’ as Washington takes 34% stake

    By Francesco Guerrera in New York

    Published: July 27 2009 00:30 | Last updated: July 27 2009 00:30

    The US government is poised to take a 34 per cent stake in Citigroup, increasing both its exposure to and influence over, the troubled financial group following Sunday’s completion of a long-awaited $58bn share offering.

    The move is a milestone in a financial crisis that has forced the US authorities to come to the rescue of some of the largest institutions in the country. Citi has been a repeated recipient of government aid and is the only large surviving bank to have had to cede a shareholding to the government.

    http://www.ft.com/cms/s/14737324-7a36-1 ... ck_check=1
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  8. #8
    April
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    Behind the profits lies trouble for 2 bank giants
    BY MICHAEL J. DE LA MERCED
    NEW YORK TIMES

    NEW YORK — The problems at the nation's big banks have caused trouble for many ordinary Americans. But increasingly, it is the problems of ordinary Americans that are causing trouble for the big banks.

    Bank of America and Citigroup, giants that have come to symbolize the ills plaguing the banking industry, announced on Friday that they had set aside billions of additional dollars to cope with looming losses on everything from credit cards to home equity loans.

    While both banks said they were again turning handsome profits, the cheery headline figures masked a sober reality: The results were driven by one-off gains — bonanzas without which both banks would have lost billions.

    At the heart of the banks' troubles are hard-pressed consumers. The question, analysts said, was whether the banks have braced themselves sufficiently for the next wave of bad debts as people slog through a long, dreary recession.

    Like Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, two banks that stunned Wall Street this week with robust earnings reports, Bank of America and Citigroup got big lifts from their trading operations. Bank of America, which has the second-largest market share among banks in St. Louis, 14 percent, reported a $3.2 billion profit for the second quarter. Citigroup said it earned a $4.3 billion profit.

    But the pain being felt by ordinary Americans hurt these giants even more. Both set aside billions of dollars to cover potential losses on consumer loans and warned that, given the tough economy, the road ahead could be rocky.

    Both banks said they were in better financial health than they were a year ago, when each was brought to its knees by the storm that swept through the markets. Neither has repaid the nearly $100 billion in government money they received, while rivals like JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs have.

    Yet with the economy still shaky — losses on consumer debt like mortgages and credit cards continue to rise — the biggest concern remains whether either bank has built up enough of a financial cushion to withstand further pain.

    Ken Lewis, the chief executive of Bank of America, conceded in a conference call with analysts Friday that the second half of the year would be tougher than the first.

    Vikram Pandit, the chief executive of Citigroup, echoed that view. RELATED LINKS
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    "Our credit card and mortgage losses are elevated because of where we are in the cycle," Pandit said on a conference call.

    Commercial real estate has also been a bugbear for a number of banks, including Bank of America, as businesses trim their employee rolls and retailers shutter franchises. The firm reported 3.34 percent in net losses in the sector, more than 60 percent of its second-quarter real estate losses. (Citigroup officials argued that their bank had less exposure.)

    Still, officials at Bank of America and Citigroup said they were preparing for a rougher second half of the year. Citigroup added nearly $4 billion to its reserves against future loan losses. Bank of America did not add more capital, but said it was adequately protected with a $13.4 billion provision.

    Some analysts questioned whether that will be enough.

    "They haven't been as forthright in recognizing how bad their problems are and that's really hurting them now," Michael Williams, an analyst at Gradient Research, said of Citigroup.

    http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/busine ... enDocument

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