So. It begins.
The first tiny step in pulling apart what Hugh McColl and Ken Lewis built up. Bloomberg reports that Bank of America will spin off and out its private-equity op Capital Partners. The $5b. fund is a legacy from BAC’s days trying to do Wall Street better than Wall Street. That kind of hubris is not possible now, not with the lack of revenue from the mortgage lending side.
But where will BAC’s hunt for cost savings — and additional capital — end? As ever, watch the stock price. Investors will signal when they think the bank has slimmed down to supportable footprint.
