Bank of America Corp., the largest U.S. bank, is reportedly selling three of its seven corporate jets and a helicopter acquired in its purchase of Merrill Lynch & Co.
"As part of our ongoing cost reduction efforts we have been scaling back our use of corporate aircraft including selling three aircraft we own and the Merrill helicopter," spokesman Scott Silvestri said in a telephone interview.
Mr. Silvestri would not say how many jets the bank will retain, but CNBC reported that Bank of America will keep four of its seven private jets. The company has about 60 people involved in flight services, CNBC reported.
Bank of America on Jan. 1 acquired Merrill Lynch, the world's largest securities firm. The bank lost $1.79 billion in the fourth quarter, excluding a $15.3 billion loss from Merrill, and received a $138 billion package of new capital and asset guarantees from the U.S. government.
