Bank Of America

If you give millions of seriously underwater homeowners a new equity position in their properties by reducing their principal mortgage debt, will they keep paying on their loans and avoid foreclosure? Call it a pipe dream or a significant model for other lenders and investors, but one company says it has found an important combination: Modify underwater borrowers' loans so that their payments are reduced to a manageable amount and cut their principal debt over time, but make the deal dependent on their scrupulous on-time monthly payments of the new amount plus sharing of a portion of any future profit they make on the house sale.

This is a story of persistence. In the case of Miriam Ramirez, it's the story of trying to obtain a much-needed loan modification from Bank of America. In BofA's case, it's the story of giving a mortgage customer the runaround for two years . Loan modifications have been an increasingly nettlesome issue as millions of homeowners struggle to make mortgage payments during the economic slump. The Obama administration has called upon banks to be more diligent in assisting customers prior to foreclosing on properties.

Some banks are finding ways to make money from mortgages despite the continuing difficulties many homeowners are having in making their home payments. The country's two biggest home lenders, Bank of America Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co., posted fourth-quarter earnings Wednesday that were bolstered by better-than-expected profits in their mortgage operations. These profits, however, had little to do with the health of the companies' mortgage portfolios, which are still generating a wave of defaults and losses for the banking giants.

Wells Fargo & Co. has become so dominant in the mortgage business that major investors and federal regulators are worried that a financial hiccup at the giant bank could roil the already beleaguered real estate market. Wells originates 34% of all home loans - more than the combined total of the next seven biggest mortgage lenders. That's why regulators are closely watching the San Francisco bank, Paul J. Miller, a former Federal Reserve bank examiner, said Thursday. "The problem is there's a lot of systemic risk when one company has that much of the market," said Miller, an analyst specializing in mortgages at FBR Capital Markets & Co. Wells Fargo's balance sheet is viewed by analysts as being among the strongest of the nation's banks, and a major distress in its mortgage business is seen as unlikely.

Bank of America Corp. Chief Financial Officer Joe Price assured employees Friday that the company had enough cash to finance operations for more than two years. "Market turmoil has created lingering industrywide concerns that magnify the importance of maintaining an extra level of capital to support business activities," Price said in a question-and-answer dialogue posted on the company's internal website.

Ending a tangled succession process, Bank of America Corp. named its retail banking chief, Brian Moynihan, on Wednesday to be its new chief executive. He will assume the CEO post Jan. 1, succeeding Kenneth D. Lewis, who came under fire for his decision last year to acquire weakened Wall Street giant Merrill Lynch & Co. in a deal that required the bank to accept one of the largest infusions of federal bailout funds. Moynihan, 50, was elected unanimously by the board of the Charlotte, N.C., company after directors spent months considering other internal candidates, notably Chief Risk Officer Gregory L. Curl, as well as star bankers from other institutions.

Former Merrill Lynch & Co. Chief Executive John Thain on Monday defended the acquisition of the brokerage by Bank of America Corp., saying the bank knew of the company's losses and payment of bonuses before the purchase closed. Thain also said he planned to reimburse Bank of America for a $1.2-million renovation of his office a year ago, saying in an interview with CNBC that "it is clear to me in today's world that it was a mistake." "I apologize for spending that money . . . .

Bank of America Corp. Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis told members of Congress on Thursday that he was not coerced by the government into going ahead with the acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co. late last year after he learned of huge new losses at the brokerage giant. But some members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee were openly skeptical. "We don't buy it," said Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.). Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) was equally incredulous.

Bank of America Corp. settled allegations by the Securities and Exchange Commission that the bank improperly accounted for a business relationship that led to a $372-million write-off in 1998. The commission alleged that the company treated an equity investment in the New York hedge fund, D.E. Shaw & Co., as a loan and failed to adequately inform investors of the risks involved in the bank's business alliance with D.E. Shaw.

Bank of America Corp. confirmed that Chairman and Chief Executive Hugh McColl will retire April 25, stepping down after 20 years as head of the largest U.S. bank rated by deposits. He'll be replaced by President and Chief Operating Officer Ken Lewis. McColl, 65, will leave a bank he built by gobbling up rivals, quadrupling the company's assets over the last seven years to more than $640 billion with a series of acquisitions that culminated in Charlotte, N.C.-based NationsBank Corp.'

Bank of America Corp.has become the nation's incredible shrinking bank - and shareholders don't seem to mind at all. The Charlotte, N.C., bank has slashed staff, combined business units and dialed back its massive mortgage business. These steps helped the bank post $3.6 billion in operating profit during the first three months of the year - a 40% surge - even as revenue fell 2.5%. The rebound has delivered a 60% jump in the company's battered stock price this year. Chief Executive Brian Moynihan told Wall Street on Tuesday that the bank has squeezed out more profit under a plan to divest businesses, cut costs and clean up its mortgage business.

Income at both Bank of America Corp. and Morgan Stanley took a tumble in the first quarter, but excluding one-time accounting charges, both banks' earnings managed to beat analyst expectations. Both stocks are now trading up. Bank of America roared out of the gate before settling a bit in morning trading, where it is now up 1.3%, or 12 cents, to $9.04 a share. Morgan Stanley also deflated a bit after starting strong, but is still trading up 3.2%, or 57 cents, at $18.23. Bank of America said its net income fell to $653 million, or 3 cents a share, from $2 billion, or 17 cents a share a year earlier.

The shareholder rejection of Citigroup Inc. Chief Executive Vikram Pandit's $15-million pay package has some on Wall Street wondering if the same fate might be in store for the heads of other big U.S. banks. Both Wells Fargo & Co. and Bank of America Corp. will ask shareholders in the coming weeks to vote on a "say on pay" proposal. Corporate governance experts and activist shareholders expect that these votes will capture even more attention now that Citi's shareholders have said they want Pandit's compensation to be dialed back.

Dirma Rodriguez had five minutes to gather her things and vacate the West Adams house she and her severely disabled daughter had lived in for more than 25 years. As a property manager changed the locks, Rodriguez fluttered back and forth from the yard — where a pile of stuff lay by the kitchen stove — to her car, where her daughter, Ingrid Ortiz, sat screaming and crying. How Rodriguez and Ortiz ended up in this predicament is a long, messy story that resounds with a misery all too common in this age of foreclosure.

This post has been corrected. Please see note at bottom for details. Occupy D.C. activists, like those in some other cities, are adopting a new tactic. They call it “sleepful protest.” Over the weekend, Occupy D.C. activists established what they hoped would be a permanent camp outside a Bank of America branch near the White House. There was but one tent -- and it was purely symbolic, with protesters sleeping on the street instead. Activists say they're returning to Occupy's roots.

In a year when Bank of America Corp.'s stock plunged 58% and the company announced plans to lay off 30,000 employees, Chief Executive Brian Moynihan's compensation package more than quadrupled to nearly $8.1 million. Here's why: In 2011, the Charlotte, N.C., bank recorded $1.4 billion in profit after losing $2.2 billion the year before. So although the bank's compensation and benefits committee kept Moynihan's salary the same at $950,000, he landed $6.1 million in performance-reliant stock.

Bank of America Corp. officials said Sunday that they were able to correct a computer glitch that had deprived about 1.1 million customers of deposits that were supposed to be electronically credited to their accounts Friday. The bank could not explain what had gone wrong with its computer system but said the backup system had been implemented and all its customers now have access to their funds. Bank of America said Saturday that 1.

The city this week picked a different financial institution: Bank of America. Two financial institutions, Union Bank and Bank of America, submitted bids for the Laguna Hills account, which totals about $3 million. Following a staff recommendation, the City Council chose Bank of America, citing its expertise in handling government finances. "They have an office in Costa Mesa that deals with government affairs," Assistant City Manager Don White said.

Bank of America: Lenient landlord? The bank is launching a pilot program that would allow customers with underwater mortgages to avoid foreclosure by becoming renters. In its testing stages, the Mortgage to Lease program will involve fewer than 1,000 customers in Arizona, Nevada and New York who are at least 60 days behind on payments for their Bank of America loan. Their homes must be worth less than what is owed on their mortgages Bank of America will forgive the outstanding debt for homeowners who transfer their home's title to the company.