Bank of America Prepares Emergency Plans at Fed Behest, May Need to Amputate on Geographic Basis

From the Wall Street Journal (subscription required):

Bank of America Corp. has told U.S. regulators that it is willing to retreat from some parts of the country if its financial problems deepen, according to people familiar with the situation….


Bank of America Chief Executive Brian Moynihan put a possible geographic retrenchment on the list submitted in the middle of last year to Fed officials. Also on the list is a potential sale of a separate class of shares tied to the performance of Merrill Lynch & Co., the securities firm owned by Bank of America, according to people familiar with the matter. Merrill was sinking when Bank of America swooped in to buy the firm in 2008, but has since turned itself around. The Fed, which acts as the company’s primary regulator, asked for documentation about contingency plans last year in response to uncertainty about a U.S. recovery and the downward swing in Bank of America’s share price.


The drastic moves would be seriously considered only if Bank of America needs to raise more capital to cushion itself from mortgage woes and other turmoil. The exercise wasn’t intended to force immediate action but rather to prepare Bank of America if its situation worsened, according to a person familiar with the Fed’s approach….


The bank still is operating under a secret U.S. sanction known as a memorandum of understanding, which puts the bank under stricter oversight, despite steps taken by Mr. Moynihan to consolidate risk controls and shed assets. Regulators have warned the board that the sanction could escalate to a more formal, public enforcement action if they aren’t satisfied with the results of the ongoing shake-up.