Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Morning roundup: More on big-bank earnings

Here's a look at this morning's banking and finance headlines:


  • Bank of America's string of asset sales helped raise capital and shed risk - but the moves also might slash profits going forward, Bloomberg reports. Now, with fewer assets left to sell, CEO Brian Moynihan can't rule out selling shares or more crucial businesses if needed, the story says.

  • Another Bloomberg piece highlights a tidbit from Wells Fargo's conference call with analysts Tuesday: CEO John Stumpf "could care less" that his bank is overtaking rivals in investment banking and capital markets.

  • In the latest major earnings report, Goldman Sachs topped analysts' expectations despite significantly lower revenue and profit, the Wall Street Journal reports. Fourth-quarter profits fell nearly 60 percent from the year before, though earnings per share were well above analysts' estimates, partly due to cost-cutting.

  • Bank of America has nabbed a spot on another "Most Hated Companies" list - this time in a recent post by financial news site 24/7 Wall St.

  • The Democratic Party's decision to move President Barack Obama's acceptance speech to Charlotte's Bank of America Stadium is drawing some criticism from party activists over the big-bank ties, NBC reports. Conservative political site Townhall.com also questions the move, calling it "naked partisan money-grubbing in populist garb."

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