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Bank Of America Earmarks $13.4bn For Bad Loans

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17 years ago

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Bank of America set aside $13.38 billion for bad loans for a second straight quarter, and net charge-offs totaled $8.7 billion, up 25 percent from the prior three-month period.

Total reserves increased $4.63 billion to $35.78 billion, and nonperforming assets surged 21 percent to $30.98 billion.

“It was expected to be difficult in the quarter, and it is,” said Richard Bove, an analyst at Rochdale Securities in Lutz, Florida.

Credit cards were a big trouble spot. The bank said it is not collecting payments on 11.73 percent of its $169.8 billion card portfolio, up from 8.62 percent three months earlier.

“We have a really ugly economic backdrop,” Michael Holland, a money manager at Holland & Co in New York, said on Reuters Television. “Those numbers aren’t going to go away soon.”

Still, Lewis said the bank expects to boost reserves more slowly, as consumer charge-offs perhaps peak around year end.

The bank announced results just before Citigroup Inc, whose difficulties are considered more severe, posted a quarterly loss excluding a big gain from a brokerage joint venture with Morgan Stanley.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc and JP Morgan Chase & Co posted better-than-expected results earlier this week. Like JP Morgan, Bank of America said it has no material exposure to struggling business lender CIT Group Inc.

In afternoon trading, Bank of America shares fell 29 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $12.88 on the New York Stock Exchange.

But many of the Bank’s problems relate to its takeover of Merrill, after less than 48 hours of negotiations.

Lewis considered scrapping the deal as Merrill’s losses soared, but completed it after then-U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson threatened to oust management, fearing a cancellation would threaten the financial system.

According to The Wall Street Journal, regulators have placed Bank of America under special secret oversight to address problems with risk and liquidity management.

Shareholders in April stripped Lewis of his chairman role, and Bank of America has since installed several directors with banking or regulatory experience.

Congress, meanwhile, is investigating whether Lewis withheld information about Merrill’s problems from investors.

Regulators have barred Bank of America from repaying its $45 billion of bailout money from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, and in May ordered it to build a $33.9 billion buffer to cope with a possible $136.6 billion of losses through 2010.

The bank said it is in early talks with the government about repaying TARP funds, preferably “sooner rather than later” according to Lewis.

Despite the problems, Chief Financial Officer Joe Price told reporters on a conference call that Bank of America is ahead of schedule in realizing $7 billion of merger savings and has made the “lion’s share” of a potential 35,000 job cuts.

He expects within 30 days to resolve whether the bank owes anything under an agreement for the government to share losses on $118 billion of assets. The bank said the agreement, part of a January bailout, was never signed and is not needed.

Price also said the bank is moving into the “contract phase” in its efforts to sell its Columbia asset management unit, and remains in talks with “multiple parties.”

Investment banking posted a $1.38 billion second-quarter profit, though trading revenue fell short of levels posted by Goldman and JPMorgan.

Credit card operations lost $1.62 billion, and Lewis said new credit card rules in 2010 could reduce annual card revenue by $700 million, similar to what JPMorgan expects.

The home lending and insurance business lost $725 million, though mortgage and home equity loans rose to $114.3 billion from the first quarter’s $89.26 billion. Bank of America bought mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp last July.

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Boat Mishap Kills Pastor, Wife And Church Members  In Brass Water

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1 week ago

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May 18, 2026

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A boat accident in Bayelsa state has killed a serving Pastor, Wife and other church members along Brass waterways
The sad incident happened at Odioama in Brass local government area of Bayelsa State when the Pastor, wife and  members of his church were in a programme.
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?Tide confirmed that the lifeless body of the Pastor’s wife has been found and deposited in a mortuary while the remains of her husband ,the Pastor is yet  to be recovered
as search party are still ongoing.
Although the real cause of the boat Mishap is not yet known as at the time of this report,  our Correspondent gathered  that the identities of the Pastor, wife and church members were not disclosed to the public.
The mishap, Tide gathered occurred on Friday morning when the church members were on a boat transit
The Bayelsa State government and the state police command are yet to issue official statement’s  on the sad accident
By: CHINEDU WOSU
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Rivers Workers Seek Scrapping Of Contributory Pension Scheme

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1 week ago

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May 18, 2026

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The Rivers State Council of  Nigeria Civil Service Union has called on the State Government to urgently scrap the contributory pension scheme, describing it as unfavourable to long-serving civil servants in the state.
Chairman of the union, Chukwuka Osuma, said this in an interview with newsmen in Port Harcourt,  recently.
Osuma said the current pension structure has continued to worsen post-retirement hardship for workers.
He noted that  the contributory pension scheme had failed to provide adequate retirement security for workers who had spent many years in service, especially those approaching retirement age.
According to him, civil servants who had served for more than 20 years were among the worst affected under the scheme, insisting that many retirees could no longer cope with prevailing economic realities.
He also  informed that the Union has made moves to showcase their concerns, pleading with Governor Siminalayi Fubara to abolish the pension policy and introduce a more favourable arrangement for affected workers.
“The union was not opposed to pension reforms, the contributory scheme should only apply to newly employed workers or those with fewer years in service”, he said.
Osuma explained that workers who had already spent decades in the civil service ought to remain under a more secure pension structure capable of guaranteeing stability after retirement.
The labour leader further noted that inflation and the rising cost of living had continued to erode the value of retirement savings, thereby increasing the suffering of pensioners across the country.
He also appealed to the state government to consider extending the years of service in the civil service from 35 to 40 years and the retirement age from 60 to 65 years.
Osuma argued that such adjustment had become necessary in view of present-day economic realities and changing conditions in the workplace.
The unionist also reviewed that similar policies had already been adopted in some sectors and jurisdictions, expressing optimism that the State could also implement the reforms for the benefit of workers.
He however, commended Governor Fubara for approving an N85,000 minimum wage for workers in the state, noting that the amount was above the national benchmark of N70,000.
Osuma also acknowledged the government’s efforts in the area of workers’ promotions and bonuses, but insisted that pension reforms and extension of years of service remained critical to the long-term welfare and stability of civil servants in Rivers State.
By: King Onunwor
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FG Begins South-West Tour To Promote New Cooperative Bank

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2 weeks ago

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May 13, 2026

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The Federal Government has launched the South-West zonal engagement and ministerial advocacy tour on the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria share capital mobilisation, sensitisation and cooperative sector digitalisation.
 Reports say the initiative was launched through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.
According to reports, the advocacy tour, organised by the ministry’s Federal Department of Cooperatives, began on Monday in Lagos.
Speaking at the event, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security and Supervising Minister of Cooperative Affairs, Dr Aliyu Abdullahi, said the initiative was part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Abdullahi described the exercise as a strategic effort to reposition the cooperative sector as a key driver of inclusive economic growth, financial inclusion, enterprise development, food security and national prosperity.
“Today represents a defining moment in our collective determination to reposition the cooperative sector as a major driver of inclusive economic growth, financial inclusion, enterprise development, food security and national prosperity,” he said.
The minister noted  the modern cooperative movement in Nigeria originated in the South-West following the 1934 Strickland Report, which led to the enactment of the Cooperative Societies Ordinance of 1935.
According to him, the decision to commence the sensitisation and share capital mobilisation tour in the region is symbolic, as it marks a return to the roots of cooperative development in the country.
Abdullahi said the advocacy tour was a direct outcome of resolutions reached at the 8th Regular Meeting of the National Council on Cooperative Affairs held in Abuja in March 2026.
He said the council approved the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme, a comprehensive framework designed to strengthen the cooperative sector and align it with the administration’s goal of building a one-trillion-dollar economy.
“The reform programme focuses on seven strategic pillars, including governance reforms, cooperative financing and the establishment of the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria, digitalisation, capacity building, value chain development, inclusion of youths, women and persons with disabilities, and strategic partnerships,” he said.
He said the establishment of the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria and the digitalisation of the cooperative sector were the two major transformational initiatives under the programme.
“The Cooperative Bank of Nigeria is aimed at rebuilding a strong cooperative financial system capable of supporting cooperators, farmers, artisans, traders, SMEs, youths, women and persons with disabilities with accessible and affordable financial services,” he said.
Abdullahi emphasised that the proposed bank would be government-enabled but not government-funded.
“Government is not establishing the bank as an owner, nor will it rely on Treasury Single Account funds.
“The role of government through the FMAFS is to provide policy support, stakeholder coordination, regulatory facilitation and an enabling environment under the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme,” he said.
Also speaking, the Lagos State Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment, Mrs Folashade Ambrose-Medebem, reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to cooperative sector transformation.
She described cooperatives as critical tools for promoting inclusive growth, grassroots productivity, food security, financial inclusion and community wealth creation.
Ambrose-Medebem said Lagos State would continue to support reforms and collaborate with stakeholders to ensure the successful implementation of the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme (2025–2030).
“Together, let us build a cooperative ecosystem that is modern, transparent, digitally enabled, financially inclusive and globally competitive.
“Let us build cooperatives that not only mobilise savings, but also mobilise prosperity,” she said.
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