Bloomberg has a very interesting dispatch reporting that Bank of America is looking to unload part of its investment China Construction Bank Corp. in order to raise captial. The nut:

Bank of America has been selling assets including its Balboa insurance unit, First Republic Bank and BlackRock Inc. to boost capital and focus on core clients. The firm can build capital through earnings and doesn’t need to issue stock, Chief Executive Officer Brian T. Moynihan, 51, said last week. Capital surcharges on the largest banks may crimp lending and drive off investors from financial firms, he said.

And BAC’s cozy relationship with the Treasury Dept. and Team Obama makes me wonder if selling off the Chinese interest also functions as a warning to Beijing: You stop investing in us, we’ll stop investing in you. Even if Washington does not intend to send such a message, I guarantee it will be interpreted as such among some overseas investors and interests who are very attuned to such shifts in positions among “insider” firms.

Update: On cue, a take on new Russian bank investment in Austrian banks through the lens of geo-political importance.