Now, go figure; Bank of America profit falls 95% on writeoff, trading loss

Bank of America profit falls 95% on writeoff, trading loss

By MarketWatch

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Bank of America said Tuesday its fourth-quarter profit tumbled 95% after the company said writeoffs for subprime credit problems, big trading losses and a weakening consumer hit the firm.

With the market way down and this earnings report how is Bank of America's stock doing? Its up 84 cents right now.

Lots of varibles and factors that go into the market.

albeit 95% smaller. A 95% fall from a $2 billion profit still means you had $100 million.

They might be up because the markets were expecting them to have a loss.

of consumers, maybe?

point drop they are talking about to come yet, you are going to see a lot of refinancing of homes.

That the banks also own most of the credit cards and there is a likelihood much of any "rebate" would go to pay off some of these credit card debts, ie, in the pockets of the big banks.

them out and yet tell us all how he is helping us. Have been reading how the credit card payments are starting to get late in a lot of cases.

banks right now but it was a much bigger one which usually causes you a hit. There is something else in there or as the other poster is saying, something being told in the conference call going on right now.

...evidently shareholders like what they are hearing. Even though their fourth-quarter profit tumbled, they did not cut their dividend.

are going to do it. That is part of the bigger equation in the economy right now, being able to finance those kind of things as the money is either tight or nill.

This is the information that I got from Briefing.com.

will want to get it off the books as quickly as they can.

Go figure that one out.

I also closed my bank account with BOA and dropped my BOA credit card. Screw them!

The purchase will make the Charlotte-based bank (NYSE:BAC) the nation's largest mortgage lender and loan servicer. The bank, the sixth-largest servicing Western New York based on deposits, also has a mortgage operation in Amherst.

The two financial institutions are on familiar terms. BofA in August bought preferred stock for $2 billion that can be converted into 16 percent of Countrywide's common stock.

At that time, Countrywide's stock was falling as concerns about its exposure to the subprime mortgage market were surfacing. Since then, the market has deteriorated, and Countywide was recently fighting off rumors of bankruptcy.

In a release, BofA says will benefit from Countrywide's broader mortgage capabilities, including its extensive retail, wholesale and correspondent distribution networks.

Under BofA's ownership, Countrywide will no longer offer subprime mortgages.

The Calabasas, Calif.-based company has more than 1,000 offices, including one in Williamsville, and a sales force of nearly 15,000.

BofA expects to gain greater scale in originating and servicing mortgages in the United States, the statement adds. Countrywide had $408 billion in mortgage originations in 2007 and has a servicing portfolio of about $1.5 trillion, with 9 million loans.

deal may not be able to take place this morning on CNBC because of money. It probably will but they do not own it by any means now. You can't even close a deal that huge quickly.

"Countrywide presents a rare opportunity for Bank of America to add what we believe is the best domestic mortgage platform at an attractive price and to affirm our position as the nation's premier lender to consumers," says BofA Chairman and Chief Executive Ken Lewis.

"We are aware of the issues within the housing and mortgage industries," Lewis adds in the statement. "The transaction reflects those challenges. Mortgages will continue to be an important relationship product, and we now will have an opportunity to better serve our customers and to enhance future profitability."

Under the terms of the agreement, shareholders of Countrywide would receive 0.1822 of a share of BofA stock in exchange for each share of Countrywide.
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The purchase is expected to close in the third quarter and to be neutral to BofA earnings in 2008 while boosting results in 2009, excluding merger and restructuring costs.
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BofA expects $670 million in after-tax cost savings in the transaction, or 11 percent of the expense base of the companies' mortgage operations.

BofA plans to operate Countrywide separately under the Countrywide brand with integration occurring no sooner than 2009.

Link: http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/stories/2008/01/07/daily45.html?ana=from_rss

Mortgages get bought, sold, and generally passed around like trading cards
amongst large financial institutions.

Your situation may just be a coincidence completely unrelated
to any total sale of Countrywide itself.

Countrywide.

far out of hand? There is something else going on here.

BOA continues to hide the full extent of 'off the books' losses.
BOA contributes to an approx $100 mil rescue fund, which is totally ineffective to deal with losses.
BOA 'buys' CountryWide Mortgage Company, which by all accounts was virtually assured of going under otherwise.

BOA now says its profits are down 95% due to writeoffs.

Hmmmm.... BOA is still in a lot worse trouble than we know now.