Morning roundup: Bank of America wins key lawsuit dismissal

Here's a look at what's news in banking and finance this morning:

• Bank of America won a dismissal in a lawsuit by Allstate against Countrywide, a key decision legal experts say gives the Charlotte bank a negotiating card in other suits, Bloomberg reports. Allstate claimed that BofA structured the Countrywide acquisition to strip it of its valuable assets while leaving a legal shell for other companies to sue. The judge found no evidence that the bank set out to defraud creditors.
• The SEC has taken it easy on big banks like JPMorgan and Bank of America, The New York Times says. The newspaper's analysis of a number of cases shows that the commission has given the banks waiver of legal liability from certain laws aimed at curbing fraud, which puts them at an advantage.
• One of Wall Street's biggest lobbying organizations is divided in how it feels about the proposed settlement between state attorneys general and the largest mortgage servicers, Bloomberg reports. That's because of a proposed provision that would give banks credit for reducing principal on mortgages that have been sold off as part of bonds, which would hurt investors.
• Loan loss reserves that banks have been releasing, boosting earnings, are about dried up, the Wall Street Journal says. That could have an impact on banks' bottom lines going forward.
• The FDIC is making progress in convincing the markets that big banks will be allowed to fail, a former IMF chief economist writes on the New York Times' Economix blog.

Bank of America program to teach wealthy kids financial skills

Bank of America's wealth management arm announced today an expanded program that will teach children of wealthy families financial skills they will need to manage their inheritance.

The new features of the Financial Empowerment Program of U.S. Trust target "tech-savvy Generation X and Y young adults who are beneficiaries of wealth," teaching skills related to investing, estate planning, wealth management, and what to watch for during live events like marriage or buying a home.

The program is partly a response to a U.S. Trust survey that showed that only about a third of wealthy parents strongly agreed their kids will be able to handle the inheritance they are left.

Families can access the program through their U.S. Trust representative, who will deliver a customized program online, in one-on-one sessions or in family sessions.

Morning roundup: Wall Street and Facebook

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

• Facebook Inc. tapped six major Wall Street banks to manage its initial public offering - including Bank of America Merrill Lynch - suggesting the social network is taking a conventional approach, the Wall Street Journal reports.
• There's plenty of buzz around Facebook's IPO, but wealthy investors aren't getting too excited, Bloomberg writes.
• The FDIC is making progress in regulating the country's biggest banks, the New York Times' Economix blog says.
• Bank of America lost about 75 percent of its market share in U.S. home mortgages since 2007, while Wells Fargo's presence almost doubled, according to Bloomberg Businessweek.
• Likely GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney is pulling in big money from private equity professionals, Fortune reports.
  

Edge Capital hires in Charlotte

Edge Capital Partners, which recently established an office in Charlotte, has hired a client specialist here to bring the city's staffing level to two.

Paige Johnson, a Charlotte native who has worked at Lehman Brothers, Morgan Stanley and Oaktree Capital Management in New York, has returned to her hometown to join Edge Capital, the company said in a news release.

“We’re proud that with her outstanding experience Paige decided to join our team,” said Kendrick Mattox, a Partner and senior investment advisor who manages Edge’s office in Charlotte, in a news release.

Edge Capital manages investments for individuals, families and institutions around the country.

Officials: Financial fraud remains top priority

Financial fraud continues to be a top priority as investors scramble to rebuild their portfolios amid a shaky economic recovery, authorities said today.

More than a dozen federal, state and local officials met in Charlotte to discuss fraud cases and trends - and share ideas on how to best combat them. The team, part of the year-old Securities and Financial Fraud Working Group, includes representatives from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Securities and Exchange Commission, FBI and other enforcement and regulatory agencies.

"There's less likelihood of things falling through the cracks when there is this kind of cooperation," said Anne Tompkins, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

Recent highlights from the group include high-profile cases involving Ponzi schemes, mortgage fraud and other financial crimes. Going forward, members plan to focus on high-yield investment scams, corporate fraud, insider trading and other issues related to or resulting from the financial meltdown, Tompkins said.

Authorities have always been interested in those topics, they said during the meeting. But financial fraud is more important than ever these days, given the growing number of retirees - often targets of Ponzi schemes - in North Carolina and beyond, a troubled economy that has made scams easier to uncover and increasing awareness of such crimes, officials said.

"It is really in the public vernacular now," Tompkins said.

She said the group's goals include better cooperation among federal, state and local officials - which, in turn, means more resources to fight financial crimes - and a continued push to hold fraudsters accountable.

“That’s our focus,” Tompkins said. “That’s always our focus. We’re on it.”

BofA, Wells among world's top banking brands

Charlotte's big banks have earned top spots in a new study measuring the value of bank brands.

Wells Fargo & Co. ranked No. 2 on brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance's international Banking 500 report, behind British lender HSBC. The San Francisco-based bank, which bought Charlotte's Wachovia in 2008, was the top U.S. bank on the list, with a brand valued at more than $23.2 billion, the study released this week found.

Bank of America Corp., which drew criticism last year over a series of PR missteps and a sinking stock price, remains one of the world's best banking brands, Brand Finance found. The Charlotte lender ranked No. 3 on the list, with a brand valued at $22.9 billion, though that was down from the No. 1 spot in 2011.

Overall, with the exception of London's HSBC, European banks performed "miserably" due to economic uncertainty and the Eurozone crisis, the firm said. Meanwhile, banks in emerging markets fared better - brands from Brazil, Russia, India and China now outnumber their European counterparts among the world's top 20 banking brands - and U.S. lenders held steady.

Brand Finance said Wells Fargo has delivered strong results but still faces a difficult future, given the lack of confidence in banking markets.

There are fears that the brand is too deeply connected to the U.S. economy, the firm said, citing its stagecoach logo. However, "in a time where the public trusts banks less and less, a saving grace for the company could be that it is perceived as trustworthy, working on behalf of Americans and not only concerned with profits," it said.

Of Bank of America, Brand Finance acknowledged big hurdles - but said if the bank can successfully integrate its Merrill Lynch brand and continue rehabilitating its wealth management business, then "no doubt it will become a great asset for the bank and make solid contributions to its bottom line."

First published in 2006, the Banking 500 measures the financial value of the world's top banking brands, based on the strength, risk and future potential of a brand relative to its competitors.

Morning roundup: Buffett helping Wells Fargo's investment bank

Here's a look at what's news in banking and finance this morning:

• Though Wells Fargo still has a small investment banking business, the bank's connections with billionaire investor Warren Buffett are pushing it business, Bloomberg says.
• Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase are increasingly battling to pick up mid-market business clients as Bank of America scales back, the Financial Times reports.
• One of President Barack Obama's nominees to the Federal Reserve board earned thousands of dollars in consulting fees from Bank of America and several other banks, financial disclosure forms show, Bloomberg reports.
• Facebook is expected to file for its long-anticipated IPO today, The New York Times says. Sources tell the newspaper that Morgan Stanley will be the lead underwriter, with JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs also involved.
• Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker appears to be the regional president with one of the smallest net worths, according to financial disclosure forms released by all the branches Tuesday. Here's the New York Times' presentation of the forms. Another note: he's a Bank of America customer, with a checking account, mortgage and equity line of credit.