Bank of America Increases Home-Equity Loss Estimate on Consumer 'Stress'

[marmar]

from Bloomberg:



Bank of America Sees Higher Losses on Home Equity (Update1)

By David Mildenberg

May 13 (Bloomberg) -- Bank of America Corp., the second- biggest U.S. bank, widened its forecast of home-equity loan losses beyond projections offered last month, adding to evidence that more consumers are falling behind on the debts.

The bank expects losses to top 2.5 percent of its $118 billion in loans linked to home values, Liam McGee, president of the Charlotte, North Carolina-based company's consumer and small business division, said at a conference in New York sponsored by UBS AG. The bank previously projected a loss rate of between 2 percent and 2.5 percent.

Bank of America, the nation's largest credit-card issuer, is also seeing a ``recent sharp increase'' in spending on necessities by its credit-card customers. That has curbed retail, travel and entertainment purchases, McGee said. Economists and bankers have said the economy may be teetering near a recession as consumers struggle with job losses and gasoline prices topping $4 a gallon.

McGee said Bank of America expects the economy, measured by real gross domestic product, will shrink in the second quarter. The bank had $184 billion of credit card debt outstanding at the end of the first quarter and about a 20 percent market share.

The bank's $4 billion purchase of Countrywide Financial Corp., the largest U.S. home lender, remains ``on track'' to be completed in the third quarter, McGee said. Bank of America expected ``bumps on the road'' during the transaction, he said.

``There is a lot of talent there that will help us grow our business,'' he said, noting that home lending will join consumer deposits and credit cards as key businesses for Bank of America.


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