Bank of America dropping ATMs at malls, gas stations

Welcome to the morning roundup. Here's a look at what's news in banking and finance.

BofA pulls ATMs. Bank of America is pulling its ATMs from many shopping malls and gas stations as it looks to cut costs, Bloomberg reports. The Charlotte bank's total number of ATMs has fallen 9 percent this year, and it decided to end its contract to rent space with the largest U.S. mall operator, Simon Property Group Inc., and a large gas station owner.

Bank subsidiaries. The biggest U.S. banks have created more than 10,000 legal subsidiaries in the past two decades in a bid to escape taxes and regulation, according to a Federal Reserve study reported on by Bloomberg. JPMorgan Chase, the largest U.S. bank by assets, had the most with nearly 3,400, while Bank of America had more than 2,000. Wells Fargo had about 1,400. Critics say this makes banks too complicated to manage.

VCs doing PR. Once secretive, prominent venture capital firms like Sequoia Capital are increasingly hiring public relations staffs and actively promoting themselves, The New York Times says. Observers say it's because it's becoming harder to get investors in a consolidating industry.