"Lender has shed 2,000 jobs in state; But Bank of America remains committed to region, CEO says" April 13, 2011|By Todd Wallack, Globe Staff
Bank of America Corp. the state’s biggest bank, has eliminated roughly 2,000 jobs in Massachusetts over the past four years, company officials acknowledged yesterday.
Chief executive Brian Moynihan said in a speech in Boston yesterday morning that the bank had 7,000 workers in the state. That’s down from 9,000 in August 2007 and 8,000 last year....
The bank has also eliminated some of its smaller branches and found other ways to become more efficient as it coped with the economic downturn....
Related: Executive Payday: Coming and Going at Bank of America
Also see: Bank of AmeriKa Giving Out Raises and Bonuses
Just being efficient.
In addition to maintaining thousands of jobs in the state, Moynihan also noted Bank of America spent $12 million on philanthropy in Massachusetts last year and $5 billion on community development projects, including loans for development in lower income neighborhoods....
The new standard is "maintaining" and not creating jobs?
Bank of America is the latest major financial company to acknowledge it has substantially reduced employment in the Bay State. Fidelity Investments recently announced plans to close an office in Marlborough by the end of next year and eliminate or move most of the 1,100 jobs to locations out of state. The Marlborough closing would bring Fidelity’s employment in Massachusetts to 7,300, down from 13,000 in 2006. And in November, Boston-based State Street Corp. announced plans to cut 1,400 jobs, including 400 in Massachusetts.
See: State Street Stealers
Nevertheless, Massachusetts has been gaining jobs overall....
Sigh.
Related: Boston Globe Giving You the Business
Also see: State jobless rate falls to lowest point in two years
See why I no longer want to read the Boston Globe business pages?
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Related: Banks high on list of delinquent property owners
Bank of America facing major hurdles this year
Hey, you know who is going to pay for it:
"Bank of America testing fees in Mass.; Lender seeks revenue from checking accounts" January 06, 2011|Todd Wallack, Globe Staff
Bank of America will offer a basic checking account with a mandatory monthly fee. But the bank will continue to offer ways to avoid the fees on other accounts, for example by maintaining a minimum balance of $2,000, using a credit card once a month, or linking an account to a Bank of America mortgage.
And the bank plans to offer special perks, such as special attention from customer service or better rates on deposits and loans, for customers who keep at least $50,000 in savings or investment accounts.
Who can afford to do that?
Bank executives said they need to make the changes to help cover the cost of new regulations and other expenses. The bank estimates it costs an average of $200 per year to service a typical checking account.
And Susan Faulkner, who oversees the bank’s deposit and card products, said the new menu of options also better matches what customers want, and therefore helps the bank retain and attract customers....
Charging higher fees does that, huh?
Next thing you know you will have to pass through a TSA scanner or pat-down line when going to the bank.
The changes come as most banks are looking for new ways to generate revenues because of new rules from Washington. Those include limits on overdraft fees and the fees banks charge merchants for debit card transactions. Institutions are also facing higher assessments from the government to cover the cost of bailing out failed banks.
Moreover, banks say they are making less money because of weak demand for loans and extraordinarily low interest rates on government bonds and other low-risk investments....
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Related: JPMorgan Chase posts record profit
