Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) Chief Executive Brian Moynihan is running out of time to fix the largest U.S. bank.
After reorganizing senior management and creating chief operating officers — a move straight out of the playbook of former Citigroup Inc (C.N) Chief Executive Charles “Chuck” Prince — Moynihan has few excuses if the bank fails to reverse course.
“This is a make-or-break type move,” said Andrew Ward, associate professor and corporate governance chair at Lehigh University.
Investors are pressing Bank of America to improve its performance after it lost money in four of the last six quarters and its stock has fallen by half this year.
“Any CEO whose stock is down where Bank of America’s is will be under some pressure,” said Jason Goldberg, bank analyst with Barclays Capital. “But you can’t turn an oil tanker around over night.”
And that’s the problem. It has 280,000 employees and more than $2.25 trillion of assets, making it tough to maneuver.
Investors have been spooked by worries the bank could need to raise as much as $50 billion in capital, by some estimates, to meet new global capital requirements. Bank of America has said it can raise the money it needs through selling assets and generating earnings, but tepid U.S. economic growth and mounting mortgage lawsuits may cut into earnings.
On August 8, Bank of America shares plunged more than 20 percent after insurer American International Group Inc (AIG.N) alleged a “massive” mortgage fraud.
