Sponsored by Bank of america

Bank of America Corp said on Tuesday it plans to modestly reduce the size of its U.S. branch network over the next three to five years, but does not have plans to eliminate 10 percent of its branches.

Bank of America Corp is planning to reduce its 6,100-branch network by about 10 percent, the Wall Street Journal cited the bank's chief executive Kenneth Lewis as telling investors.

The New York Federal Reserve on Monday named Japan's Nomura Securities International as a U.S. primary dealer of Treasury securities, effective immediately.

Georgia banking officials today announced that State Bank and Trust co. has agreed to acquire the assets and deposits of six community banks operated by Security Bank Corp, raising $300 million in capital for the acquisition.

Citigroup Inc said it has appointed three new directors and installed a new chief to oversee its retail banking unit, addressing criticism that it lacks enough leaders with commercial banking experience.

American Express Co and Capital One Financial Corp said rising customer delinquencies reduced second-quarter earnings, and shares of the large U.S. credit card issuers fell after hours.

Wells Fargo & Co and other major U.S. banks said the troubled economy drove big increases in loan losses, reducing second-quarter earnings.

General Electric Co has received approval to step back from a U.S. government-backed debt program, a change that the largest U.S. conglomerate said will allow it to issue some debt more cheaply.

Asset manager BlackRock Inc said second-quarter profit fell from a year earlier as assets under management declined, but results rebounded from the first quarter as markets recovered.

Bank of America's (BAC.N) Merrill Lynch is in talks with several firms including Blackstone (BX.N) and Apollo Investment Management to sell management rights of its $2.65 billion Asian Real Estate Opportunity Fund, a source with knowledge of the deal said.

U.S. stocks jumped on Monday, driving the S&P 500 to an eight-month closing high, after CIT Group Inc was thrown a lifeline to avoid bankruptcy, and investors bet corporate America would log another strong set of earnings this week.

Several Wall Street analysts on Monday gave a mixed 2009 outlook for Citigroup Inc (C.N) and Bank of America Corp (BAC.N), after the U.S. banks on Friday reported a surge in second-quarter loan losses despite posting profits for the period.

Stellar earnings from U.S. banks have raised expectations that European rivals will follow suit in the next month, although rising bad debts have the potential to douse that optimism.

Nomura Holdings Inc's U.S. brokerage unit said it has hired Ciaran O'Kelly from Bank of America Corp as a managing director and head of equities in the Americas.

Bank of America Inc. posted better than expected second quarter earnings of $3.2 billion on Friday. The bank's CEO, Kenneth Lewis, admitted it will be much tougher to make money in the second half of 2009 after the bank's current profits relied on one-time gains. Lewis anticipates more loan losses as the unemployment rate continues to rise.

Bank of America Corp, the largest U.S. bank, posted a quarterly profit that topped Wall Street forecasts but warned of a fresh surge in soured loans to credit card, mortgage and business customers.

Bank of America Corp and Citigroup Inc raised huge red flags on Friday with quarterly results that suggested the U.S. consumer remains sorely injured as the global recession drags on.

Stocks fell on Friday on worry over the quality of corporate profits after General Electric Co missed quarterly revenue estimates, discouraging investors after a four-day run-up in Wall Street.

GE's poor outlook, More bank losses ahead, Giant web ad deal looms

Bank of America Inc. posted better than expected second quarter earnings on Friday. Bank of America said that it earned $3.2 billion, or 33 cents a share, compared to $3.4 billion, or 72 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of 28 cents and revenue of $33.1 billion. BofA shares rose 5 cents or 0.4 percent, to $13.22 in morning trading Friday.

BofA, Citigroup rise after beating estimates, GE slips, Mattel sharply higher

Bank of America Corp posted a quarterly profit that topped Wall Street forecasts, but the largest U.S. bank warned of a fresh surge in troubled loans from credit card, mortgage and business customers due to the weak economy.

Bank of America Corp posted a lower quarterly profit on Friday, hurt by a surge in troubled loans as more credit card and mortgage customers fell behind on payments.

(Corrects profit decline before preferred stock divideds to 5 percent from 7 percent, in 3rd paragraph)

Bank of America Corp posted a lower quarterly profit on Friday, hurt by a surge in troubled loans as more credit card and mortgage customers fell behind on payments.

Bank of America Corp on Friday reported second-quarter results.

Investors were looking to Bank of America and Citigroup for a fresh dose of earnings optimism on Friday, after strong reports from JPMorgan Chase and IBM raised hopes for a global recovery.

JPMorgan Powers Ahead, CIT Plummets, Cap and Trade and Jobs

Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson admitted on Thursday before lawmakers that he had initially underestimated the extent of the financial crisis and described the financial markets at the time as being driven by fear and uncertainty. Paulson said it was appropriate for the government to ensure that Bank of America did go through with the deal.