Paul Davis

Yet bankers and consultants agree: Companies could trim still more fat if they are willing to dive deeper into their operating expenses. Some believe that another 20% of spending can be cut from annual budgets, with the best targets being outsourcing contracts for software, transaction processing, property maintenance and other services.

Bank of America Corp. announced Wednesday it will sell the stock and bond mutual-fund business of its asset-management unit to Ameriprise Financial Inc. for up to $1.2 billion in cash.

The Ken Lewis era at Bank of America Corp. is in its final stage. B of A announced late Wednesday that Lewis will retire from the Charlotte company on Dec. 31. The company said the board is evaluating successors for the executive, with expectations of having the new CEO named by time Lewis steps down.

Banks stocks fell along with broader equities Tuesday after a report showed that consumers remain wary of the economy despite encouraging comments from government officials in recent weeks.

Sallie Krawcheck, hired last month to run the business, made the announcements Tuesday in an internal memo that named her direct reports. The executives include eight from Merrill Lynch & Co., two from B of A, and an outside hire from Citigroup Inc. B of A bought Merrill in January; Krawcheck was a Citi executive until leaving late last year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. on Tuesday catapulted a veteran investment banker, Jes Staley, into the slot of heir apparent to Chief Executive Officer James Dimon.

Regions Financial Corp. agreed to pay a $1 million penalty to settle claims by the Securities and Exchange Commission that its bank played a key role in an investment scheme that mostly took place in Latin America.

BBVA Compass had several opportunities in recent years to exit the credit card business, just as many other regional banking companies did. But the bank stuck with it, and that decision could give it a leg up, now that legal reforms and new attitudes about the nature of the business may bring many regionals back in the game.

Banking stocks were jarred Thursday amid signs that credit problems had bled into commercial lending. The 2009 shared national credit review released Thursday found that credit losses hit $53 billion, or more than the combined losses identified in the previous eight reviews.

Stop the MusicFifth Third Bancorp continues to play musical chairs with its top financial position.

The KBW Bank Index rose 2.3%, outpacing other major indices. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.5% and the Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 0.7%.

Bank of America Corp. is progressing down the road to recovery, but its biggest obstacles still lie ahead.

Bank of America Corp. on Monday agreed to pay $425 million to shelve a loss-sharing pact designed to help it digest the securities firm Merrill Lynch & Co.

Down the line, observers say, if banks do not start minting money, accounting for the assets could actually delay or reduce profits and cut into already tenuous capital levels.

Synovus Financial Corp. shares fell 12% Thursday after the company completed a bigger-than-expected common stock offering.

Bank of America finance chief assesses company's management; Ken Lewis talks financial crisis to Japanese — and literature?; the good news and bad news for Citi employees; and more.

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BB&T Chief Executive Kelly S. King, speaking at a conference hosted by Barclays Capital, said the integration has been "a challenge," though deposits have been stable over the past four weeks.

The $35 billion-asset Columbus, Ga., company said after the markets closed Monday it plans to sell $350 million in common stock and conduct a debt exchange, among other things.

Regions' C. Dowd Ritter said during a conference in New York held by Barclays Capital that the Birmingham, Ala., company has "more than adequate capital" to weather the recession.