What does Bank of Americas Moynihan have to say about the challenges his bank faces?”
usatoday.com: Bank of America’s Moynihan says challenges just starting By Kathy Chu, USA TODAY CHARLOTTE — In his first 100 days on the job, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan has won over analysts, surprised consumer advocates and angered politicians. His encyclopedic knowledge of the bank has earned him the respect of prominent analysts such as Dick Bove, who once questioned whether Moynihan was the right choice to steer BofA through unprecedented industry and economic turmoil. His rollback of aggressive bank fees has elicited shock — and applause — from consumer groups who had long blasted such fees but become accustomed to the industry doing little about them. And his unwillingness to demonize the bank’s controversial acquisition of Merrill Lynch has irked critics pressing for answers about the deal. It’s all in a day’s — well 116 days, to be exact — work for Moynihan, a fiercely competitive, sometimes fast-talking executive who took
In a recent television interview, Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan stated he will vote for Barney Frank in the upcoming election he faces, saying he liked how he handled both banking and consumer challenges during the economic crisis. Frank is the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. Moynihan has more of a history of working with Frank, as he lives in his district and interacted with Frank when Bank of America made the promise in 2004 to keep 17,900 jobs in the New England region when they acquired FleetBoston Financial Corp. at that time. Former Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis had more of a strained relationship with Frank, and didn’t know him very well. As far as how Frank handled the banking and consumer pressured during the economic crisis, I was less than impresses, as Frank seemed to flip flop from week to week on a variety of issues, especially in relationship to his dealings with the Federal Reserve, which were tough at first, but e
The new CEO says he’s aware his challenges are only beginning. “When you’re in the middle of a very difficult time, what you need to do is pretty obvious,” says Moynihan, a boyish-looking 50, in an interview at his office on the 58th floor of BofA’s Charlotte headquarters. “The harder part of success is in calmer times. You have to be more disciplined, more focused.” Part of the challenge for Moynihan going forward will be streamlining the operations of Merrill and mortgage lender Countrywide, two prominent casualties of the financial fallout that have been absorbed into BofA. Another will be improving the health of the bank’s business lines, even as regulatory measures threaten to crimp the company’s earnings. But perhaps the bank’s most daunting task will be to regain the public’s trust after the implosion of Wall Street-created exotic instruments that helped plunge the nation into recession, gutting Lehman Bros. and bringing other competitors close to collapse.
