- Bank of America Returns to Profit as Merrill Boosts Revenue
- Bank of America Earns $3.2 Billion in First Quarter
- Goldman Director Gupta to Leave
- Troubles Mount For Former Car Czar
- LBO Firms Extract Dividends as Blackstone Sells: Credit Markets
- ‘Liquidity Puts’ That Cost Citigroup $14 Billion May Be Curbed
Bank of America Returns to Profit as Merrill Boosts Revenue – Bloomberg
Bank of America Corp., the largest U.S. lender, posted its first profit in three quarters as the company reaped gains from Merrill Lynch & Co.’s investment banking and provisions for loan losses declined.
First-quarter net income was $3.18 billion, or 28 cents a share before preferred dividends, compared with $4.25 billion, or 44 cents, in the same period a year earlier, according to a statement today from the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank. That beat the average estimate of 23 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg of 10 cents, adjusted for one-time items…..
Bank of America Earns $3.2 Billion in First Quarter – Press Release
Goldman Director Gupta to Leave – WSJ
Rajat Guptatold Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in March he wouldn’t stand for re-election as a director, after receiving notice from prosecutors that they were reviewing recorded conversations between him and Galleon Group founder Raj Rajaratnam, people close to the matter say.
Mr. Gupta, a Goldman director since 2006, said through a spokesman that his decision to step down was because of “other commitments.”…..
Troubles Mount For Former Car Czar – WSJ
Steven Rattner, the famed Wall Street deal maker and former Obama administration car czar, came under fire from his long-time business partners for what they called “unethical” efforts to win a $100 million investment for their private-equity firm, Quadrangle Group.
Quadrangle made the accusations against Mr. Rattner as part of a settlement with the New York Attorney General and the Securities and Exchange Commission, in which the firm agreed to pay a $12 million fine to settle civil charges concerning its 2004 effort to win business from the New York State pension fund, one of the nation’s largest…..
LBO Firms Extract Dividends as Blackstone Sells: Credit Markets – Bloomberg
Leveraged buyout firms, taking advantage of investor demand for higher yields, are selling more junk bonds and loans to pay themselves dividends than at any point since credit markets started to freeze in 2007.
Companies controlled by private-equity groups have raised $10.8 billion in debt to fund payouts in 2010, compared with $1 billion in all of 2009, Standard & Poor’s LCD data show. Apria Healthcare Group Inc., owned by Blackstone LP, is seeking consent from bondholders to sell notes to issue a dividend following at least six similar offerings this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg……
‘Liquidity Puts’ That Cost Citigroup $14 Billion May Be Curbed – Bloomberg
New accounting rules may curb U.S. banks’ willingness to guarantee mortgage-backed investment trusts such as those that cost Citigroup Inc. $14 billion, said a top official in the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
The rules, which took effect in January and give lenders a year to comply, will force banks to account for most such trusts as assets instead of reporting them separately as guaranteed off-the-books affiliates, said Kevin Bailey, the OCC’s deputy comptroller for policy. Once on the balance sheet, the trusts will require 10 times as much capital support…
Tags: Bank of America, Blackstone Group, Citigroup, Galleon Group, Goldman Sachs, Insider Trading, LBOs, Politics, Quadrangle Group, Raj Rajaratnam, Steven Rattner
