Bank of America mulls 40,000 job cuts: WSJ

Bank of America Corp officials have discussed slashing roughly 40,000 jobs during the first wave of a restructuring, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the plans.

The number of job cuts are not final and could change. The restructuring aims to reduce the bank's workforce over a period of years, the Journal said.

The newspaper said BofA executives met Thursday in Charlotte and will gather again Friday to make final decisions on the reductions, putting the finishing touches on five months of work.

Bank of America could not immediately be reached for comment by Reuters outside regular US business hours.

Banks are shedding jobs worldwide as stricter regulations and a tough second quarter for trading income take their toll on investment banking units in particular.

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Bank of America job cuts could reach 30,000

Bank of America Corp executives are discussing plans to potentially shed 25,000 to 30,000 jobs over the next several years, the Charlotte Observer said.

Bank of America executives are still working on the final plans regarding the workforce reduction, which could reach much more than 10,000 jobs, the Charlotte Observer reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Jobcuts at the biggest US bank, which the Wall Street Journal had reported could rise to 10,000 in the coming months, come on the heels of the bank's stock plunging over 40% since the beginning of this year.

The bank, part of a growing list of large banks that have been slashing their workforce, is expected to cut 3,500 jobs in the next few weeks as it continues to cope with its $1 trillion pile of problem home mortgages.

Bank of America, which recently received a $5 billion investment from Warren Buffett, has suffered a series of quarterly losses over the past two years, including a record $8.8 billion loss in its latest quarter.

In the first phase of the program, the bank's executives are examining the consumer side of the bank, the mortgage business and staff functions.

In the fourth quarter of this year and the first quarter of next year, they will tackle capital markets, wealth management and commercial banking operations, the Charlotte Observer said.

On a conference call with investors last month, Bank of America Chief Executive Brian Moynihan said the bank could cut as much as $1.5 billion in quarterly expenses.

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Bank of America looks to exit correspondent mortgage biz

Bank of America Corp is looking to sell its correspondent mortgage business and the unit's employees could be notified as soon as Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

The bank had decided to exit the correspondent channel, which employs more than 1,000 people, because it no longer fits with the long-term strategy for its mortgage unit, the Journal said.

Correspondents fund loans and sell them to larger lenders.

The bank has used the correspondent channel to build origination volume and make money by re-selling the loans to other parties and then servicing them, the newspaper said.

Loans purchased from correspondents accounted for 47% of Bank of America's mortgage originations, or $27.4 billion, in the first quarter of 2011, the Journal said citing Inside Mortgage Finance.

Bank of America could not immediately be reached by Reuters for comment outside regular US business hours.

The biggest US bank plans to cut 3,500 jobs in the next few weeks, its Chief Executive Brian Moynihan had said in a memo to staff on Aug. 18, as it tries to come to grips with $1 trillion of problem home mortgages.

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