Bank of America transition underway

Recall that in the aftermath of its earnings debacle, Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis vowed to exit the business. His memorable phrase: "I've had all the fun I can stand in investment banking." Well, he's making good on his word. The latest is that he's bent on selling the bank's prime brokerage unit. Talks with Citadel are underway, according to the New York Post. The unit is struggling amid executives defections, including former head Christopher Pesce and Steven Winter, who ran the fixed-income side. To some, the broad move to jettison the i-banking side may be an over-reaction, throwing the baby out with the water. In a way, it is another indication that the universalist banking concept in the U.S. anyway never really panned out, despite a lot of hand-wringing by the less commercial banks that Bank of America and Citigroup had awesome advantages in investment banking.

For more:
- here's the New York Post article

Related article:
- Earnings anxiety worsens for Bank of America, others

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