Hundreds of City jobs to go as BofA cuts costs by $5bn
BANK of America chief executive Brian Moynihan yesterday said the bank would take drastic action to cut $5bn (£3.1bn) from its annual cost base.
Moynihan told a New York conference BofA would sell assets and slash 30,000 jobs in the first phase of an overhaul to put it on a firmer financial footing and convince investors it can survive a series of damaging lawsuits.
The sale of assets such as some credit card businesses, and job cuts in its US retail division and technology centres, will strip BofA of its position as the biggest US bank.
The City will also suffer, as several hundred of BofA’s 6,500 London-based employees are to be made redundant. But Moynihan denied that BofA would sell its investment bank Merrill Lynch, and City A.M. understands that London’s investment banking strength means it will bear less than 300 job losses in this phase of cuts at least.
BofA has sold off $40bn of assets and accepted $5bn from Warren Buffett as it faces legal claims related to its sale of mortgage-backed securities.