Big banks move to clean up balance sheets

One analyst has called the third-quarter the clean-up quarter. The likes of Citigroup, Bank of America and other commercially oriented banks seem to be swallowing the bitter medicine needed to get past the credit crunch. The big banks are marking down buyout loans, trading losses and boosting their loan-loss reserves, and Mr. Market has responded. But the New York Times notes that this is only half the problem. The other half is how to make up lost business. That will most likely take time; no one expects the mortgage market to revive magically any time soon. So the story for most banks will likely revolve around expenses and perhaps acquisitions. The news that TD Bank has bought Commerce suggests that domestic retail banking is still seen as a good business.    

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