The embattled financial institution's share price, already down 59% this year, hovered near its 2-year-low of $5.13 on a report in The Wall Street Journal that it was having difficulty meeting US financial regulatory requirements.
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November 23, 2011
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- It's time for Bank of America to start wrestling with some existential questions.
The embattled financial institution's share price, already down 59% this year, hovered near its 2-year-low of $5.13 on a report in The Wall Street Journal that it was having difficulty meeting US financial regulatory requirements.
The Charlotte, North Carolina bank declined to comment on the story. During a press conference Tuesday morning, Martin Gruenberg, the acting chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Commission, also declined to comment.
"It's very difficult to appeal to regulators until they themselves can communicate their own corporate vision," said Josh Siegel, a managing director of StoneCastle Partners, a private equity firm focused on community and commercial banks with $2 billion under management.
"They need to decide how they want to position themselves and determine what they want to hold," said Siegel, who was not aware of any of Bank of America's discussions with regulators.
But as investors continue to sell Bank of America's (BAC, Fortune 500) stock, several financial M&A advisors said it's now possible that Bank of America could put more assets up for sale.
The bank is currently only holding active sale processes for its credit card business in the United Kingdom and Ireland, according to a Bank of America spokesperson. He declined to comment on potential sales.
And while Bank of America may not be holding auctions for assets, that hasn't stopped Wall Street investment bankers from speculating that the company could consider a wide range of sales of non-core businesses.
"Banks are going to be reluctant to conduct auctions," said Jerry Wiant, managing director of RBC's financial sponsors group. "What's more important is certainty and expediency of closing a deal, so banks are more inclined to reach out to a single party or be approached by a single party to get a deal done."
For Bank of America, sales of various business lines could put the financial institution in a better position to meet various US and international risk regulations.
Among the potentially most interesting BofA assets to buyers: loan portfolios, including credit card loans, mortgage loans and auto loans.
"You can meet capital requirements by either raising capital or shrinking risk weighted assets," said Wiant. "Nobody wants to raise capital at these prices."
That could be especially true now that the Federal Reserve said late Tuesday that BofA, along with five other large U.S. banks, will need to give the Fed loss estimates early next year that accounts for a "hypothetical global market shock."
The other five banks are Citigroup (C, Fortune 500), Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500), JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500), Morgan Stanley (MS, Fortune 500) and Wells Fargo (WFC, Fortune 500
http://money.cnn.com/2011/11/22/markets/bac_stock/index.htm?source=cnn_bin
Hello everyone.....Karma here....no pun intended.....lol.....FYI.....BEing and X-Stock Broker, amongst MANY other things.....what is EXTREMELY important to understand here ( if you read the comments attached to the actual article (see link to CNN).....IS......the ONE "missed" fact ( Gee...wonder why?) they don't mention, which IS the FACT the currencies WORLD WIDE are falling.....for those that believe the RICH ( Elite ) are buying back shares ( of ANY company ) at low prices ( Buffet ) waiting for a "bounce back".....i believe perhaps "they" are, however.....a dollar is NOT worth what it was a mere 6 months ( or 9 months - 1 year and on and on ) ago....ANY CURRENCY......doesn't matter where.....therefore, what used to cost a dollar to buy.....now costs 1.50 or MORE......the Euro is OVER.....it WILL collaspe.....'tiss the reason you see GOLD above 1700 an ounce......and oil is for retards.....speculators ( Arabs ).....who know NOTHING other than trading platforms to wash their hands of the BLOOD of the innocent.....and if you're a follower of Ben Fulford ( I AM )
....then you should be aware of the FACT that these "platforms" are gone......interest rates are nil.....so where does one put their ill-gotten gains to protect them?......Gold?.......Oil?......Fiat currencies?......nope!!......Private Corporations baby.....and the more "they" do.....the more "they" expose themselves for what "they" are......CONTROLLERS of an illegal market ( game ).......tick, tock......tick tock.......or better put.......KNOCK, KNOCK......The Barbarians ARE at the gate ( book )....and there is NO WHERE to hide........
WE WIN.
99%
Namaste
Peace
KH
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