Bank Of America

NEW YORK -- Investors and bankers should keep an eye on the radical experiment under way at the Bank of America, headquartered in San Francisco. It is changing the way it pays the staff that sells mutual funds, tax-deferred annuities, bonds and other securities. If it's successful, competitors would be wise to copy.The bank's objectives are two: (1) to motivate its sales representatives to pay more attention to what the customer really needs; (2) to establish strict quality controls, so a rogue broker can't do a customer wrong.

The local branch of Habitat for Humanity has already received several properties as part of a nationwide commitment by Bank of America to donate 2,000 vacant homes to the affordable housing organization. “These donations can make a dramatic difference for so many Habitat affiliates, increasing their suitable property inventory,” said Jonathan Reckford, CEO of Habitat for Humanity International, in a statement this week. Habitat's outposts across the U.S. are receiving the homes from Bank of America on a case-by-case basis, as they become available.

SAN FRANCISCO - Bank of America Corp., the third-largest U.S. bank, must pay $284 million to customers who were charged overdraft fees on accounts containing customer Social Security deposits, a California judge ruled yesterday. The decision also orders the bank to give each affected customer $1,000. Up to 1.3 million customers may qualify, which could eventually increase the award to $1.6 billion, plaintiffs' lawyer Mark Johnson said. Bank of America said it intends to appeal the decision, in which Judge Anne Bouliane confirmed a tentative Dec. 8 ruling.

Rep. Elijah Cummings, ranking member of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, praised the U.S. Department of Justice's decision Wednesday to sue Bank of America over alleged reckless mortgage lending practices. The government claims that loose mortgage lending standards by Countrywide Financial, which Bank of America bought in 2008, ended up costing taxpayers at least $1 billion. "I welcome this announcement and strongly commend the Obama Administration, the Department of Justice, and the Inspectors General for their diligence in seeking accountability and justice on behalf of the American taxpayers and homeowners," Cummings said in a statement.

Countrywide Financial, the troubled lender that became a symbol of the excesses that led to the subprime mortgage crisis, is negotiating a sale to Bank of America, according to people briefed on the matter, a move that would rescue it from an increasingly uncertain future. As the nation's largest mortgage lender, Countrywide helped fuel the housing boom by offering loans to high-risk borrowers. But as home prices began dropping last year and borrower defaults soared, Countrywide's lending practices came under the spotlight of legislators, regulators and consumer advocates.

A masked gunman held up a Severna Park bank yesterday, fleeing in a stolen car with an undisclosed amount of money, authorities said. FBI agents were investigating the 9 a.m. holdup at the Bank of America in the 400 block of Jumpers Hole Road. Police said a man, armed with a silver-colored handgun, fled in a white Nissan found abandoned a short time later on the rear parking lot of the nearby Benfield Village Shopping Center. Police said it had been reported stolen in Prince George's County.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Bank of America Corp., the nation's biggest bank, said yesterday that its third-quarter earnings more than doubled on higher fees and lower expenses arising from last year's merger between NationsBank Corp. and BankAmerica Corp.Net income rose to $2.15 billion, or $1.23 a share, from a profit before charges of $893 million, or 50 cents, a year ago. The year-earlier earnings excluded a $725 million pretax merger charge. BankAmerica and NationsBank merged last October."The results were better than anticipated on the fee-income category," said Edward Najarian, a bank analyst at Wheat First Union, who has an "outperform" rating and a 52-week target price of $71 on the shares.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Bank of America Corp., the biggest U.S. bank, said yesterday that it is combining money management units catering to wealthy people, institutions, and mutual fund investors into one group "to more effectively serve client needs and build our business."Michael Kenneally, now president of Bank of America Investment Management in St. Louis, is to oversee the money management functions for the new group.Holly Deem, the president of TradeStreet Investment Associates Inc. in Charlotte, is to head operations, and Robert Gordon, president of NationsBanc Advisors Inc. in Charlotte, is to direct marketing and product development.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations pledged yesterday to call for an international boycott of Bank of America if the company doesn't meet with representatives about claims of religious discrimination at a Rockville branch. Standing across the street from the branch bank, leaders of the council's Maryland office said they've been trying to talk to company officials for months and will give them two more weeks to set up a meeting. "They've opened a Pandora's box," said S. Rizwan Mowlana, executive director of the council's state office.

San Francisco's Bank of America has entered Baltimore with an aggressive push to generate small business loans.Top executives of the bank said yesterday that they have begun offering business operators, who receive guarantees from the Small Business Administration, loans at the prime rate for one year, along with 100 percent financing and discounts on fees."

Bank of America said Wednesday that an executive with 31 years at the company will step up as president of the institution's Baltimore and Maryland markets. David Millman's past positions at Bank of America include leadership roles in consumer banking and global commercial banking. He's replacing William Couper, the company's mid-Atlantic president, who plans to retire at the end of September after 40 years with Bank of America. Millman, born in Baltimore, lives in Owings Mills with wife Holly.

A bunch of new patent applications from Bank of America reveal that the company's R&D lab has been working on new mobile technologies that would enable smartphone users to analyze their environment with their smartphone's video camera ; recognize the objects around them, including those with embedded sensors; and generate automatic budgeting and wish lists . The North Carolina banking powerhouse is known within the banking industry for...

Bank of America warned state regulators Friday that it expects to lay off 55 employees in Baltimore County. The company said the cuts at its McCormick Road location in Hunt Valley, where employees process customer transactions, would run from Nov. 30 through Jan. 31. Workers could be eligible for severance pay and assistance finding a new job, the bank said. "We continually evaluate our operations and look for ways to better deliver for our customer/clients," Nicole Nastacie, a Bank of America spokeswoman, said by email.

If you're a local Bank of America borrower behind on your home mortgage, chances are you've received an invitation to come chat in Baltimore. The company is holding a foreclosure-prevention event next Thursday through Saturday -- June 28 through June 30 -- at the Baltimore Hilton for customers whose loans it services. It's one in a series of face-to-face events that Bank of America and other mortgage servicers have put on. In other cases, they've participated in events organized by groups or political leaders . The appeal of in-person?

Not as big news as the national mortgage settlement worth nearly $1 billion to Maryland. But the Federal Trade Commission announced today that a subsidiary of Bank of America agreed to settle charges that it illegally overcharged struggling homeowners by more than $36 million. BAC Home Loans Servicing has already returned $28 million to consumers. In the new settlement, it will return another $8 million. BAC Home Loans is the successor to Countrywide, one of the nation's largest mortgage servicer that was acquired in 2008 by Bank of America.

Facing a consumer backlash and an online revolt, Bank of America said Tuesday that it won't adopt a $5 monthly debit card fee next year after all. The move - which came after some banks had backed away from similar fees - is seen as a major victory for consumers, who stood together against what they saw as an unfair fee to access their own money. "A lot of people do petitions," said Catherine Anderson, 30, a Bank of America customer in Baltimore. "Sometimes they work; sometimes they don't.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Bank of America Corp. said yesterday that second-quarter earnings rose 2 percent at a time when the company is cutting costs and struggling to boost revenue after last year's merger of NationsBank Corp. and BankAmerica.Profit from operations at the biggest U.S. bank rose to $2.06 billion, or $1.15 a share, from $2.02 billion, or $1.13, in the year-earlier period. Charlotte-based Bank of America said its net income was $1.92 billion, or $1.07 a share, including a $145 million after-tax charge arising from the merger.

Two large Baltimore employers are planning to either move some jobs from the city or sell their buildings, creating new office vacancies in a difficult real estate market. Bank of America will move a portion of its city operations and an estimated 200 workers to an existing campus in Hunt Valley, according to city officials. And insurance company Zurich has put its two Hampden buildings on the market and is seeking smaller quarters for its 800 employees. The moves will add to vacant office space at a time when the economic crisis is expected to slow the momentum of attracting new business downtown.

On the day last week that Bank of America announced sweeping cost-cuts, including the elimination of 30,000 jobs, executives at BlueRidge Bank celebrated a milestone for the three-year-old financial company. The Frederick-based community bank opened a retail branch in Towson, doubling its staff and adding to its existing commercial lending business in the Baltimore region. "We're expanding in contrast to other banks that are downsizing," said J. Brian Gaeng, chief executive of BlueRidge Bank.