Wednesday, May 06, 2009

Pope's Address to Biblical Commission


ZE09050604 - 2009-05-06
Permalink: http://www.zenit.org/article-25801?l=english

Pope's Address to Biblical Commission


"God Really Speaks to Men and Women in a Human Way"



VATICAN CITY, MAY 6, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave April 23 to the members of the Pontifical Biblical Commission gathered in plenary assembly.

* * *

Your Eminence,
Your Excellency,
Dear Members of the Pontifical Biblical Commission,
I am pleased to welcome you once again at the end of your annual Plenary Assembly. I thank Cardinal William Levada for his greeting and for his concise presentation of the theme that has been the object of attentive reflection at your meeting.

You have gathered once again to study a very important topic: Inspiration and Truth of the Bible. This subject not only concerns theology, but the Church herself, because the life and mission of the Church are necessarily based on the word of God, which is the soul of theology and at the same time the inspiration of all Christian life. The topic you have addressed furthermore responds to a concern that I have very much at heart, because the interpretation of Sacred Scripture is of capital importance for the Christian faith and for the life of the Church.

As you have mentioned, Cardinal President, in his Encyclical "Providentissimus Deus," Pope Leo XIII offered Catholic exegetes new encouragement and new directives on the subject of inspiration, truth and biblical hermeneutics. Later, Pius XII in his Encyclical "Divino Afflante Spiritu," gathered and completed the preceding teaching and urged Catholic exegetes to find solutions in full agreement with the Church's doctrine, duly taking into account the positive contributions of the new methods of interpretation which had developed in the meantime.

The vigorous impetus that these two Pontiffs gave to biblical studies, as you also said, was fully confirmed and developed in the Second Vatican Council, so that the entire Church has benefited and is benefitting from it. In particular, the Conciliar Constitution "Dei Verbum" still illumines the work of Catholic exegetes today and invites Pastors and faithful to be more regularly nourished at the table of the word of God.

In this regard the Council recalls first of all that God is the Author of Sacred Scripture: "The divinely revealed realities, which are contained and presented in the text of Sacred Scripture, have been written down under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. For Holy Mother Church relying on the faith of the apostolic age, accepts as sacred and canonical the Books of the Old and the New Testaments, whole and entire, with all their parts, on the grounds that, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit they have God as their author, and have been handed on as such to the Church herself" (Dei Verbum, n. 11).

Therefore since all that the inspired authors or hagiographers state is to be considered as said by the Holy Spirit, the invisible and transcendent Author, it must consequently be acknowledged that "the books of Scripture, firmly, faithfully and without error, teach that truth which God, for the sake of our salvation, wished to see confided to the sacred Scriptures" (ibid., n. 11).

From the correct presentation of the divine inspiration and truth of Sacred Scripture certain norms derive that directly concern its interpretation. The Constitution "Dei Verbum" itself, after stating that God is the author of the Bible, reminds us that in Sacred Scripture God speaks to man in a human fashion and this divine-human synergy is very important: God really speaks to men and women in a human way. For a correct interpretation of Sacred Scripture it is therefore necessary to seek attentively what the hagiographers have truly wished to state and what it has pleased God to express in human words.

"The words of God, expressed in the words of men, are in every way like human language, just as the Word of the eternal Father, when he took on himself the flesh of human weakness, became like men" (Dei Verbum, n. 13).

Moreover, these indications, very necessary for a correct historical and literary interpretation as the primary dimension of all exegesis, require a connection with the premises of the teaching on the inspiration and truth of Sacred Scripture. In fact, since Scripture is inspired, there is a supreme principal for its correct interpretation without which the sacred writings would remain a dead letter of the past alone: Sacred Scripture "must be read and interpreted with its divine authorship in mind" (ibid., n. 12).

In this regard, the Second Vatican Council points out three criteria that always apply for an interpretation of Sacred Scripture in conformity with the Spirit that inspired it.

First of all it is essential to pay great attention to the content and unity of the whole of Scripture: only in its unity is it Scripture. Indeed, however different the books of which it is composed may be, Sacred Scripture is one by virtue of the unity of God's plan whose centre and heart is Jesus Christ (cf. Lk 24: 25-27; Lk 24: 44-46).

Secondly, Scripture must be interpreted in the context of the living tradition of the whole Church. According to a statement of Origen: "Sacra Scriptura principalius est in corde Ecclesiae quam in materialibus instrumentis scripta", that is, "Sacred Scripture is written in the heart of the Church before being written on material instruments".

Indeed, in her Tradition the Church bears the living memory of the Word of God and it is the Holy Spirit who gives her its interpretation according to the spiritual meaning (cf. Origin, Homilae in Leviticum, 5,5).

As a third criterion, it is necessary to pay attention to the analogy of the faith, that is to the consistence of the individual truths of faith with one another and with the overall plan of the Revelation and the fullness of the divine economy contained in it.

The task of researchers who study Sacred Scripture with different methods is to contribute in accordance with the above-mentioned principles to the deepest possible knowledge and explanation of the meaning of Sacred Scripture. The scientific study of the sacred texts is important but is not sufficient in itself because it would respect only the human dimension. To respect the coherence of the Church's faith, the Catholic exegete must be attentive to perceiving the Word of God in these texts, within the faith of the Church herself.

If this indispensable reference point is missing, the exegetical research would be incomplete, losing sight of its principal goal, and risk being reduced to a purely literary interpretation in which the true Author God no longer appears.

Furthermore, the interpretation of the Sacred Scriptures cannot only be an individual scientific effort but must always be compared with, inserted in and authenticated by the living Tradition of the Church. This rule is decisive to explain the correct relationship between exegesis and the Magisterium of the Church. The Catholic exegete does not only feel that he or she belongs to the scientific community, but also and above all to the community of believers of all times. In reality these texts were not given to individual researchers or to the scientific community, "to satisfy their curiosity or to provide them with material for study and research" (Divino Afflante Spiritu, eb 566).

The texts inspired by God were entrusted in the first place to the community of believers, to Christ's Church, to nourish the life of faith and to guide the life of charity. Respect for this purpose conditions the validity and efficacy of biblical hermeneutics. The Encyclical "Providentissimus Deus" recalled this fundamental truth and noted that, far from hindering biblical research, respect for this norm encourages authentic progress. I would say, a rationalistic hermeneutic of faith corresponds more closely with the reality of this text than a rationalistic hermeneutic that does not know God.

Being faithful to the Church means, in fact, fitting into the current of the great Tradition. Under the guidance of the Magisterium, Tradition has recognized the canonical writings as a word addressed by God to his People, and it has never ceased to meditate upon them and to discover their inexhaustible riches.

The Second Vatican Council reasserted this very clearly: "all that has been said about the manner of interpreting Scripture is ultimately subject to the judgment of the Church which exercises the divinely conferred commisssion and ministry of watching over and interpreting the Word of God" (Dei Verbum, n. 12).

As the above-mentioned Dogmatic Constitution reminds us, an inseparable unity exists between Sacred Scripture and Tradition, because both come from the same source:

"Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture, then, are bound closely together, and communicate one with the other. For both of them, flowing out from the same divine well-spring, come together in some fashion to form one thing, and move towards the same goal. Sacred Scripture is the speech of God as it is put down in writing under the breath of the Holy Spirit. And Tradition transmits in its entirety the Word of God which has been entrusted to the Apostles by Christ the Lord and the Holy Spirit. He transmits it to the successors of the Apostles so that, enlightened by the Spirit of truth, they may faithfully preserve, expound and spread it abroad by their preaching. Thus it comes about that the Church does not draw her certainty about all revealed truths from the Holy Scriptures alone. Hence, both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honoured with equal feelings of devotion and reverence" (Dei Verbum, n. 9).

As we know, this word "pari pietatis affectu ac reverentia" was created by St Basil and then absorbed into Gratian's Decree, through which it entered the Council of Trent and then the Second Vatican Council. It expresses precisely this inter-penetration between Scripture and Tradition.

The ecclesial context alone enables Sacred Scripture to be understood as an authentic Word of God which makes itself the guide, norm and rule for the life of the Church and the spiritual growth of believers.

As I have said, this is in no way an obstacle to a serious and scientific interpretation but furthermore gives access to the additional dimensions of Christ that are inaccessible to a merely literary analysis, which remains incapable of grasping by itself the overall meaning that has guided the Tradition of the entire People of God down the centuries.

Dear Members of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, I would like to end my talk by expressing to you all my personal gratitude and encouragement. I thank you warmly for the demanding work you do at the service of the Word of God and of the Church through research, teaching and the publication of your studies. To this I add my encouragement for the ground that has yet to be covered.

In a world in which scientific research is assuming ever greater importance in numerous fields, it is indispensable that exegetical science attain a good level. It is one of the aspects of the inculturation of the faith that is part of the Church's mission, in harmony with acceptance of the mystery of the Incarnation.

Dear brothers and sisters, may the Lord Jesus Christ, the Word of God incarnate and the divine Teacher who opened the minds of his disciples to an understanding of the Scriptures (cf. Luke 24: 45), guide and sustain you in your reflection.

May the Virgin Mary, model of docility and obedience to the Word of God, teach you to accept ever better the inexhaustible riches of Sacred Scripture, not only through intellectual research but also in your lives as believers, so that your work and your action may contribute to making the light of Sacred Scripture shine ever brighter before the faithful.

As I assure you of my prayerful support in your efforts, I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing to you, as a pledge of divine favours.




© Innovative Media, Inc.


P.S. Bolds, Highlights, and Italics added.
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Bank of America (Bank of Italy)





Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC), based in Charlotte, North Carolina is the largest financial services company in the world[4], largest bank by assets,[3] second largest commercial bank by deposits, and (previously) third largest by market capitalization in the United States.[5][6] Also, Bank of America is the number one underwriter of global high yield debt, the third largest underwriter of global equity and the ninth largest adviser on global mergers and acquisitions.[7]


Bank of America serves clients in more than 150 countries and has a relationship with 99 percent of the U.S. Fortune 500 companies and 83 percent of the Fortune Global 500. The company is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).[8]


The Bank, at one point considered one of the winners and healthiest survivors of the 2007 credit crisis, plunged in market value due to, in part, massive losses caused by its purchase of Merrill Lynch. It's Q1 2009 profit was 4.2 billion with 3.7 billion having come from Merrill Lynch. [9]


Contents



Corporate history
Bank of Italy


The Bank of Italy was founded in San Francisco by Amadeo Giannini in 1904, based on catering to immigrants. Amadeo was raised by the Fava/Stanghellini family when his father was shot while trying to collect on a $10.00 debt. When the 1906 San Francisco earthquake struck, Giannini was able to get all of the deposits out of the bank building and away from the fires.
In 1922, Giannini established Bank of America and Italy in Italy by buying Banca dell'Italia Meridionale, itself only established in 1918.

In the late 1920s, Giannini approached Orra E. Monnette, President and founder of Bank of America, Los Angeles, about a merger between the two entities. The Los Angeles based bank had exhibited strong growth throughout the 1920s, due in part to its success in developing an advanced branch banking system. The merger was completed in early 1929 and took the name Bank of America. The combined company was headed by Giannini with Monnette serving as co-Chair.


Growth in California
Giannini sought to build a national bank, expanding into most of the western states as well as into the insurance industry, under the aegis of his holding company, Transamerica Corporation. The passage of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, prohibited banks from owning non-banking subsidiaries such as insurance companies. Bank of America and Transamerica were separated, with the latter company continuing in the insurance business. However, federal banking regulators prohibited Bank of America's interstate banking activity, and Bank of America's domestic banks outside California were forced into a separate company that eventually became First Interstate Bancorp, which was acquired by Wells Fargo and Company in 1996. It was not until the 1980s with a change in federal banking legislation and regulation that Bank of America was again able to expand its domestic consumer banking activity outside California.


These technologies also allowed credit cards to be linked directly to individual bank accounts. In 1958, the bank introduced the BankAmericard, which changed its name to VISA in 1975.[10] A consortium of other California banks came up with Master Charge (now MasterCard) in order to compete with BankAmericard.



Expansion outside of California
Bank of America Corporate Center, located in the center of uptown Charlotte, North Carolina.
Following the passage of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1967, BankAmerica Corporation was established for the purpose of owning Bank of America and its subsidiaries.

BankAmerica expanded outside California in 1983 with its acquisition of Seafirst Corporation of Seattle, Washington, and its wholly owned banking subsidiary, Seattle-First National Bank. Seafirst was at risk of seizure by the federal government after becoming insolvent due to a series of bad loans to the oil industry. BankAmerica continued to operate its new subsidiary as Seafirst rather than Bank of America until the 1998 merger with NationsBank.


BankAmerica was dealt huge losses in 1986 and 1987 by the placement of a series of bad loans in the Third World, particularly in Latin America. The company fired its CEO, Sam Armacost. Though Armacost blamed the problems on his predecessor, A.W. (Tom) Clausen, Clausen was appointed to replace Armacost. The losses resulted in a huge decline of BankAmerica stock, making it vulnerable to a hostile takeover. First Interstate Bancorp of Los Angeles (which had originated from banks once owned by BankAmerica), launched such a bid in the fall of 1986, although BankAmerica rebuffed it, mostly by selling operations. It sold its FinanceAmerica subsidiary to Chrysler and the brokerage firm Charles Schwab and Co. back to Mr. Schwab. It also sold Bank of America and Italy to Deutsche Bank. By the time of the 1987 stock market crash, BankAmerica's share price had fallen to $8, but by 1992 it had rebounded mightily to become one of the biggest gainers of that half-decade.


BankAmerica's next big acquisition came in 1992. The company acquired its California rival, Security Pacific Corporation and its subsidiary Security Pacific National Bank in California and other banks in Arizona, Idaho, Oregon and Washington (which Security Pacific had acquired in a series of acquisitions in the late 1980s). This was, at the time, the largest bank acquisition in history. Federal regulators, however, forced the sale of Security Pacific's Washington subsidiary, Rainier Bank, as the combination of Seafirst and Rainier would have given BankAmerica too large a share of the market in that state. The Rainier Bank branches were divided and sold off to West One Bancorp (now U.S. Bancorp) and KeyBank.[11] Later that year, BankAmerica expanded into Nevada by acquiring Valley Bank of Nevada.


In 1994, BankAmerica acquired the Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust Co. of Chicago, which had become federally owned as part of the same oil industry debacle emanating from Oklahoma City's Penn Square Bank, that had brought down numerous financial institutions including Seafirst. At the time, no bank had the resources to bail out Continental, so the federal government operated the bank for nearly a decade. Illinois at that time regulated branch banking extremely heavily, so Bank of America Illinois was a single-unit bank until the 21st century. BankAmerica moved its national lending department to Chicago in an effort to establish a financial beachhead in the region.


These mergers helped BankAmerica Corporation to once again become the largest U.S. bank holding company in terms of deposits, but the company fell to second place in 1997 behind fast-growing NationsBank Corporation, and to third in 1998 behind North Carolina's First Union Corp. In 1998, BankAmerica was purchased by North Carolina-based NationsBank, and changed the headquarters to Charlotte, North Carolina.


Merger of NationsBank and BankAmerica
In 1997, BankAmerica lent D. E. Shaw & Co., a large hedge fund, $1.4bn so that the hedge fund would run various businesses for the bank. However, D.E. Shaw suffered significant loss after the 1998 Russia bond default. BankAmerica was acquired by NationsBank later that year in October.


The purchase of BankAmerica Corp. by the NationsBank Corporation was the largest bank acquisition in history at that time. While the deal was technically a purchase of BankAmerica Corporation by NationsBank, the deal was structured as merger with NationsBank renamed to Bank of America Corporation, and Bank of America NT&SA, changing its name to Bank of America, N.A. as the remaining legal bank entity. The bank still operates under Federal Charter 13044 which was granted to Giannini's Bank of Italy on March 1, 1927. However, SEC filings before 1998 are listed under NationsBank, not BankAmerica.


Following the US$64.8 billion acquisition of BankAmerica by NationsBank, the resulting Bank of America had combined assets of US$570 billion, as well as 4,800 branches in 22 states. Despite the mammoth size of the two companies, federal regulators insisted only upon the divestiture of 13 branches in New Mexico, in towns that would be left with only a single bank following the combination. This is because branch divestitures are only required if the combined company will have a larger than 25 percent FDIC deposit market share in a particular state or 10 percent deposit market share overall.

History since 2001
In 2001, Bank of America CEO and chairman Hugh McColl stepped down and named Ken Lewis as his successor. Lewis's greater focus on financial discipline and efficiency contrasted greatly with the expansionary mergers and acquisition strategy of his predecessor.

Acquisition of FleetBoston Financial
In 2004, Bank of America announced it would purchase Boston-based bank FleetBoston Financial for $47 billion in cash and stock.[12] By merging with Bank of America, all of its banks and branches were given the Bank of America logo. At the time of merger, FleetBoston was the seventh largest bank in United States with $197 billion in assets, over 20 million customers and revenue of $12 billion.[12]

Purchase of MBNA
On 30 June 2005, Bank of America announced it would purchase credit card giant MBNA for $35 billion in cash and stock. The Federal Reserve Board gave final approval to the merger on 15 December 2005, and the merger closed on 1 January 2006. The acquisition of MBNA provided Bank of America a leading credit card issuer at home and abroad. The combined Bank of America Card Services organization, including the former MBNA — had more than 40 million U.S. accounts and nearly $140 billion in outstanding balances. Under Bank of America the operation was renamed FIA Card Services.

Divestiture of operations in Brazil, Chile and Uruguay
In May 2006, Bank of America and Banco Itaú (Investimentos Itaú S.A.) entered into an acquisition agreement through which Itaú agreed to acquire BankBoston's operations in Brazil and was granted an exclusive right to purchase Bank of America's operations in Chile and Uruguay. A deal was signed in August 2006 under which Itaú agreed to purchase Bank of America's operations in Chile and Uruguay. Prior to the transaction, BankBoston's Brazilian operations included asset management, private banking, a credit card portfolio, and small, middle-market, and large corporate segments. It had 66 branches and 203,000 clients in Brazil. BankBoston in Chile had 44 branches and 58,000 clients and in Uruguay it had 15 branches. In addition, there was a credit card company, OCA, in Uruguay, which had 23 branches. BankBoston N.A. in Uruguay, together with OCA, jointly served 372,000 clients. While the BankBoston name and trademarks were not part of the transaction, as part of the sale agreement, they cannot be used by Bank of America in Brazil, Chile or Uruguay following the transactions. Hence, the BankBoston name has disappeared from Brazil, Chile and Uruguay. The Itaú stock received by Bank of America in the transactions has allowed Bank of America's stake in Itaú to reach 11.51%. Banco Boston do Brazil had been founded in 1947.

Purchase of US Trust
On 20 November 2006, Bank of America announced the purchase of The United States Trust Company for $3.3 billion, from the Charles Schwab Corporation. US Trust had about $100 billion of Assets Under Management and over 150 years of experience. The deal closed 1 July 2007.[13]

Acquisition of ABN AMRO North America and LaSalle Bank
On September 14, 2007, Bank of America won approval from the Federal Reserve to acquire ABN AMRO N.A. and LaSalle Bank Corporation from Netherlands's ABN AMRO for $21 billion. With this combination Bank of America will have 1.7 trillion in assets. A Dutch court blocked the sale until it was later approved in July. The acquisition was completed on October 1, 2007.
The deal increased Bank of America's presence in Illinois, Michigan, and Indiana by 411 branches, 17,000 commercial bank clients, 1.4 million retail customers and 1,500 ATMs. Bank of America has become the largest bank in the Chicago market with 197 offices and 14% of the deposit share, passing up JPMorgan Chase.
LaSalle Bank and LaSalle Bank Midwest branches adopted the Bank of America name on 5 May 2008.[14]

Acquisition of Countrywide Financial
On August 23, 2007 the company announced a $2 billion repurchase agreement for Countrywide Financial. This purchase of preferred stock was arranged to provide a return on investment of 7.25% per annum and provided the option to purchase common stock at a price of $18 per share.[15]


Following that initial investment, on January 11, 2008, Bank of America announced that they would buy Countrywide Financial for $4.1 billion.[16] This acquisition, which closed on July 1, 2008, gave the bank a substantial market share of the mortgage business, and access to Countrywide's expertise, technology, and employees for servicing mortgages.[17] The acquisition was seen as preventing the potential of bankruptcy for Countrywide. Countrywide, however, denied that it was close to bankruptcy. Countrywide provides mortgage servicing for nine million mortgages valued at $1.4 trillion USD as of December 31, 2007.[18] However, Countrywide is under FBI investigation due to possible fraud in home loans and mortgages, therefore Bank of America states that by 2009 they will only be "officially" affiliated to Countrywide.[19]


On July 1, 2008, Bank of America Corporation completed its purchase of Countrywide Financial Corporation. This purchase made it the USA's leading mortgage originator and servicer, controlling between 20 to 25 percent of the home loan market.[20] The deal was structured to merge Countrywide with the Red Oak Merger Corporation, which Bank of America created as an independent subsidiary. It has been suggested that the deal was structured this way to prevent a potential bankruptcy stemming from large losses in Countrywide hurting the parent organization by keeping Countrywide bankruptcy remote.[21]

Acquisition of Merrill Lynch
On September 15, 2008, Bank of America announced its intentions to purchase Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. in an all-stock deal worth approximately $ 50 billion, about 86% of the Bank of America stock price at close. Merrill Lynch was at the time within days of collapse, and the acquisition effectively saved Merrill from bankruptcy.[22] Around the same time Bank of America was reportedly also in talks to purchase Lehman Brothers, however a lack of government guarantees caused the bank to abandon talks with Lehman.[23] Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy the same day Bank of America announced its plans to acquire Merrill Lynch.[24] This acquisition made Bank of America the largest financial services company in the world.[25] Temasek Holdings, the largest shareholder of Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., has become one of the largest shareholders of Bank of America.[26]


Shareholders of both companies approved the acquisition on December 5, 2008, and the deal closed January 1, 2009.[27]

The Bank, in its January 16, 2009 earnings release, revealed massive losses at Merrill Lynch in the fourth quarter, which necessitated an emergency government bailout of the Bank to keep it solvent. Merrill recorded an operating loss of $21.5 billion in the quarter, mainly in its sales and trading operations, led by Tom Montag. The Bank also disclosed it tried to abandon the deal in December after the extent of Merrill's trading losses surfaced, but was compelled to complete the merger by the U.S. government. The Bank's stock price sank to $7.18, its lowest level in 17 years, after announcing earnings and the Merrill mishap. The market capitalization of Bank of America, including Merrill Lynch, was then $45 billion, less than the $50 billion it offered for Merrill just four months earlier, and down $108 billion from the merger announcement.

Federal bailout

This section requires expansion.
Bank of America received US $20 billion in federal bailout from the US government through the TARP program on 16 January 2009 and also got guarantee of US $118 billion in potential losses at the company.[28] This was in addition to the $25 billion given to them in the Fall of 2008 through TARP. The additional payment was part of a deal with the US government to preserve Bank of America's merger with the troubled investment firm Merrill Lynch.[29] Since then, members of the US Congress have expressed considerable concern about how this money has been spent, especially since some of the recipients have been accused of mis-using the bailout money.[30] The Bank's CEO, Ken Lewis, was quoted as claiming "We are still lending, and we are lending far more because of the TARP program." Members of the US House of Representatives, however, were skeptical and quoted many anecdotes about loan applicants (particularly small business owners) being denied loans and credit card holders facing stiffer terms on the debt in their card accounts.


According to a March 15, 2009 article in The New York Times, Bank of America received an additional $5.2 billion in government bailout money which was channeled through American International Group. [31]

Bank of America divisions

Bank of America ATM

Typical Bank of America local office

Bank of America branch in Lowell, MA
Bank of America generates 90% of its revenues in its domestic market and continues to buy businesses in the US. The core of Bank of America's strategy is to be the number one bank in its domestic market. It has achieved this through key acquisitions.[32]

Consumer
Global Consumer and Small Business Banking (GC&SBB) is the largest division in the company, and deals primarily with consumer banking and credit card issuance. The acquisition of FleetBoston and MBNA significantly expanded its size and range of services, resulting in about 51% of the company's total revenue in 2005. It competes directly with the retail banking divisions of Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase. The GC&SBB organization includes over 6,100 retail branches and over 18,700 ATMs across the United States.

Bank of America is a member of the Global ATM Alliance, a joint venture of several major international banks that allows customers of the banks to use their ATM card or check card at another bank within the Global ATM Alliance with no fees when traveling internationally. Other participating banks are Barclays (United Kingdom), BNP Paribas (France), China Construction Bank (China), Deutsche Bank (Germany), Santander Serfin (Mexico), Scotiabank (Canada) and Westpac (Australia and New Zealand).[33] This feature is restricted to withdrawals using a debit card, though credit card withdrawals are still subject to cash advance fees and foreign currency conversion fees. Additionally, some foreign ATMs use Smart Card technology and may not accept non-Smart Cards.


Bank of America, N.A is a nationally chartered bank, regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Department of the Treasury.

Corporate
Global Corporate and Investment Banking (GCIB), also known as Banc of America Securities LLC, provides mergers and acquisitions advisory, underwriting, capital markets, as well as sales & trading in fixed income and equities markets. Its strongest groups include Leveraged Finance, Syndicated Loans, and mortgage-backed securities. It also has one of the largest research teams on Wall Street. Banc of America Securities LLC is based in New York City, with major offices also located in Charlotte, Chicago, San Francisco, Tokyo, Frankfurt, London, and Mumbai. Ken Lewis, the ambitious chief executive who masterminded the bank's expansion into exotic new businesses including GCIB, bluntly ruled out any further acquisitions in its investment banking division. "I've had all of the fun I can stand in investment banking at the moment," he told analysts.

Investment management
Global Wealth and Investment Management manages assets of institutions and individuals. It is among the 10 largest U.S. wealth managers (ranked by private banking assets under management in accounts of $1 million or more as of June 30, 2005). In July 2006, Chairman Ken Lewis announced that GWIM's total assets under management exceeded $500 billion. GWIM has five primary lines of business: Premier Banking & Investments (including Bank of America Investment Services, Inc.), The Private Bank, Family Wealth Advisors, Columbia Management Group, and Banc of America Specialist.


Bank of America has recently spent $675 million building its US investment banking business and is looking to become one of the top five investment banks worldwide. "Bank of America already has excellent relationships with the corporate and financial institutions world. Its clients include 98% of the Fortune 500 companies in the US and 79% of the Global Fortune 500. These relationships, as well as a balance sheet that most banks would kill for, are the foundations for a lofty ambition."[34]


Bank of America is currently constructing a massive new headquarters for its New York City operations. The skyscaper will be located on 42nd Street and Avenue of the Americas, at Bryant Park, and will feature state of the art, environmentally-friendly technology throughout its 1.2 million square feet (111,484 m²) of office space. The building will be the headquarters for the company's investment banking division, and will also host most of Bank of America's New York-based staff.

International operations
In 2005, Bank of America acquired a 9% stake in China Construction Bank, China's second largest bank, for $3 billion.[35] It represented the company's largest foray into China's growing banking sector. Bank of America currently has offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Guangzhou and is looking to greatly expand its Chinese business as a result of this deal. In 2008 Bank of America was awarded Deal of the Year - Project Finance Deal of the Year at the 2008 ALB Hong Kong Law Awards[36].


Bank of America has invested in India as an emerging market. Currently, Bank of America maintains branches in Mumbai, Chennai, Calcutta, New Delhi and Bangalore. For the fiscal year ending March 31, 2006 Bank of America reported an 80% increase in net profit.[37]
Bank of America operated under the name BankBoston in many other Latin American countries, including Brazil. In 2006, Bank of America sold all BankBoston's operations to Brazilian bank Banco Itaú, in exchange for Itaú shares. The BankBoston name and trademarks were not part of the transaction and, as part of the sale agreement, cannot be used by Bank of America. (That meant the extinction of the BankBoston brand.)


Bank of America's Global Corporate and Investment Banking spans the Globe with divisions in United States, Europe and Asia. The U.S. headquarters are located in New York, European headquarters are based in London and Asia's headquarters are split between Singapore & Hong Kong.

Board of Directors
William Barnet III, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Barnet Company
Frank P. Bramble Sr, Former Executive Officer, MBNA Corporation
John T. Collins, Chief Executive Officer, The Collins Group
Gary L. Countryman, Chairman Emeritus, Liberty Mutual Group
Tommy Franks, Retired General, United States Army
Charles K. Gifford, Former Chairman, Bank of America Corporation
Kenneth D. Lewis, President and Chief Executive Officer, Bank of America Corporation
Monica C. Lozano, Publisher and Chief Executive Officer of La Opinion
Walter E. Massey, Chairman, Bank of America Corporation, President Emeritus, Morehouse College
Thomas J. May, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, NSTAR
Patricia E. Mitchell, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Paley Center for Media
Thomas M. Ryan, President and Chief Executive Officer, CVS Caremark Corporation
O. Temple Sloan, Jr., Chairman, General Parts International
Meredith R. Spangler, Trustee and Board Member
Robert L. Tillman, Chairman and CEO Emeritus, Lowe's
Jackie M. Ward, Retired Chairman/CEO, Computer Generation

Major Shareholders
Individuals
Shares held
Kenneth D Lewis
2,372,260
John A Thain
679,946
Bruce L Hammonds
504,429
Keith T Banks
336,371
Charles K Gifford
334,176

Institutions

Shares held
% held
Barclays Global Investors
192,077,414
3.83
State Street Corp
187,394,299
3.73
FMR
152,596,052
3.04
Vanguard Group
142,204,635
2.83
Capital World Investors
114,829,550
2.29
Wellington Management Comp
102,053,133
2.03
AXA
89,824,923
1.79
Bank of New York Mellon Corp
65,284,687
1.30
Morgan Stanley
58,081,288
1.16
JP Morgan Chase & Co
54,816,605
1.09
data from Yahoo! Finance as of January 1, 2009

Social responsibility
In addition to its new eco-friendly office tower in Manhattan, Bank of America has pledged to spend billions on commercial lending and investment banking for projects that it considers "green." The corporation, which already supplied all of its employees with cash incentives to buy hybrid vehicles, is also helping its customers be eco-friendly by rolling out a new credit card program in 2007 that would donate money to helping the environment, as well as providing mortgage loan breaks for customers whose homes qualified as energy efficient.[38]
Bank of America has also donated money to help health centers in Massachusetts[39] and made donations to help homeless shelters in Miami.[40]


In 2004 the bank pledged $750 billion over a ten-year period for community development lending and investment. The company had delivered more than $230 billion against a ten-year commitment of $350 billion made in 1998 to provide affordable mortgage, build affordable housing, support small business and create jobs in disadvantaged neighborhoods.


Diversity and inclusion

Bank of America in Washington, D.C.
Bank of America was named for the 19th year as one of the "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers" in 2007 by Working Mother magazine. In 2006 Bank of America was one of the first companies inducted into Working Mother magazine's Hall of Fame.


In 2007, DiversityInc ranked Bank of America as the number one company for diversity in this prestigious list and placed as a top employer for executive women, Hispanics, Asian Americans and for GLBT executives, as well as number one for recruitment and retention, and number six for supplier diversity.


IT Senior Management Forum (ITSMF) recognized Bank of America as the "2007 Organization of the Year." This award is presented annually for leadership in the areas of developing and embracing a diverse workforce.


National Black MBA Association awarded Bank of America the "2006 Company of the Year" for recruiting, retaining and providing advancement opportunities for blacks in the workplace. It also recognized Bank of America's Managing Director, Deputy Head of Global Investment Banking Lewis Warren, Jr. as one of the "75 Most Powerful Blacks on Wall Street."
Bank of America was named the number one company for Hispanics by Hispanics Business Magazine in 2006. Latina Style continues to rank Bank of America in their Top 15 for its "50 Best Companies for Latinas" which measures companies based on recruitment, retention and advancement opportunities for Latinas.


Human Rights Campaign 2006 Corporate Equality Index gave Bank of America a 100% rating for its support of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender associates.

Controversies
As is the case with many large corporations, some of Bank of America's corporate policies have been controversial. Some policies, such as their overdraft fee policy, and their acceptance of the Matricula Consular as an acceptable form of identification for account opening are widespread in the financial industry. Other controversies have been more specific to Bank of America, such as its involvement in the bankruptcy of the Italian food and dairy conglomerate Parmalat or its receipt of funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program. These controversies generate a great deal of media attention from critics on all points of the political spectrum.

Bank of America corporate buildings

Bank of America Plaza, Atlanta, GA.
Bank of America Center in Boise, ID
Bank of America Tower in Phoenix, AZ
Bank of America Center in Los Angeles, CA
555 California Street, formerly the Bank of America Center, in San Francisco, CA
Bank of America Tower in Jacksonville, FL
Bank of America Tower in Miami, FL
Bank of America Building in Orlando, FL
Bank of America Tower in St. Petersburg, FL
Bank of America Tower in Tampa, FL
Bank of America Plaza in Atlanta, GA (the tallest U.S. building outside of NYC and Chicago)
Bank of America Building, formerly the LaSalle Bank Building in Chicago, IL
Bank of America Building in Baltimore, MD
Bank of America Plaza in St Louis, MO
Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, NC (The corporate headquarters)
Bank of America Plaza in Charlotte, NC
Bank of America Tower in Albuquerque, NM
Bank of America Tower in New York City, NY (under construction)
Bank of America Building in Providence, RI
Bank of America Plaza in Dallas, TX
Bank of America Center in Houston, TX
Bank of America Building in Bellevue, WA
Bank of America Fifth Avenue Plaza in Seattle, WA
Columbia Center in Seattle, WA
One City Center, often called the Bank of America building due to signage rights, in Portland, ME
200 Front Street West, often called the Bank of America tower in Toronto, ON
Bank of America Tower in Hong Kong

See also
Bank of America Canada
Bank of America (Asia)
List of bank mergers in United States



References



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  2. ^ "Bank of America (BAC) - Annual balance sheet". Yahoo finance. http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bs?s=BAC&annual.

  3. ^ a b Chu, Kathy; Krantz, Matt (2008-09-14). "Bank of America buys out Merrill in bold move". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/banking/2008-09-14-merrill-lynch-bank-of-america_N.htm.

  4. ^ "Lehman Bros files for bankruptcy". BBC News. 2008-09-16. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7615931.stm.

  5. ^ "BofA tops Citigroup and JP Morgan Chase in market capitalization". Charlotte Business Journal. 2007-11-05. http://charlotte.bizjournals.com/charlotte/stories/2007/11/05/daily8.html. Retrieved on 2007-12-28.

  6. ^ "JPMorgan Chase's Market Value Tops Bank of America". Bloomberg.com. 2008-06-04. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aIlEBDZG3kFU&refer=home. Retrieved on 2008-07-13.

  7. ^ Bank of America (2008-09-15). Bank of America Buys Merrill Lynch Creating Unique Financial Services Firm. Press release. http://www.bankofamerica.com/merrill/index.cfm?template=press_release.

  8. ^ "Bank of America: About". Bank of America. http://www.bankofamerica.com/index.cfm?page=about.

  9. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8008158.stm

  10. ^ "The History of Visa". Visa Inc.. http://www.visalatam.com/e_aboutvisa/acerca_historia.jsp. Retrieved on 2007-10-29.

  11. ^ Matassa Flores, Michele (1992-04-02). "Key Bank, West One Finalize Purchases". Seattle Times. http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19920402&slug=1484315. Retrieved on 2008-09-27.

  12. ^ a b "US banking mega-merger unveiled". BBC News. 2003-10-27. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/business/3217803.stm.

  13. ^ "Bank of America To Buy U.S. Trust". Forbes.com. 2006-11-20. http://www.forbes.com/markets/2006/11/20/bank-of-america-markets-equity-cx_jl_1120markets12.html. Retrieved on 2007-08-22.

  14. ^ Tom, Henderson (2008-04-14). "BOA to 'paint the town red' with LaSalle name change". Crain's Detroit Business (Crain Communications Inc). http://www.crainsdetroit.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080414/SUB/804140331. Retrieved on 2008-05-05.

  15. ^ Caroline Salas and Steven Church (2007-08-23). "Countrywide Gives Bank of America $447 Million Gain". Bloomberg L.P.. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aqHmmBljF9Ok&refer=home. Retrieved on 2007-10-29.

  16. ^ Reuters via Yahoo! News (2008-01-11). "Bank of America to buy Countrywide for $4 billion". Reuters. http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080111/bs_nm/countrywide_bankofamerica_dc_14. Retrieved on 2008-01-11.

  17. ^ Bauerlein, Valerie; Hagerty, James S. (2008-01-12). "Behind Bank of America's Big Gamble". Wall Street Journal. pp. A1, A5. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120005404048583617.html. Retrieved on 2008-01-15.

  18. ^ "Countrywide Financial Corporation Thirteen Month Statistical Data for the period ended December 31, 2007". http://about.countrywide.com/PressRelease/PressRelease.aspx?rid=1093858. Retrieved on 2008-01-15.

  19. ^ CNN! News (2008-03-10). "Countrywide FBI Investigation". http://money.cnn.com/2008/03/08/news/companies/countrywide_FBI/index.htm. Retrieved on 2008-03-10.

  20. ^ ""BofA completes deal for Countrywide Financial"". Associated Press. 2008-07-01. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/sns-ap-bank-of-america-countrywide,0,1423871.story. Retrieved on 2008-07-02.

  21. ^ "Bank of America May Not Guarantee Countrywide's Debt". Bloomberg News. 2008-05-02. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aEtv5YOYSFwY&refer=us. Retrieved on 2008-08-03.

  22. ^ http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202424529176

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  24. ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/15/business/15lehman.html

  25. ^ Lehman Brothers files for Bankruptcy

  26. ^ http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5i2utZN9Et0f-U1kZR8zBMw51evaA

  27. ^ "Bank of America Completes Merrill Lynch Purchase". prnewswire.com for Bank of America. 2009-01-01. http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayReleaseContent.aspx?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/01-01-2009/0004948222&EDATE.

  28. ^ http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.38849e166a876fe3b800838530d14243.e31&show_article=1

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  30. ^ http://money.cnn.com/2009/02/11/news/companies/congress_banks/index.htm?postversion=2009021117

  31. ^ A.I.G. Lists Firms It Paid With Taxpayer Money, The New York Times, March 15, 2009

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  33. ^ "Five big banks form Global ATM Alliance", ATMmarketplace.com. January 9, 2002. Accessed June 22, 2007.

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  36. ^ http://www.legalbusinessonline.com.au/

  37. ^ "Bank of America's India operations have reported an 80 per cent jump in net profit". indiadaily.com. 2006-06-15. http://www.indiadaily.com/editorial/9739.asp.

  38. ^ "Bank vows $20 billion for green projects". msnbc. 2007-03-07. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17500301/.

  39. ^ Kowalczyk, Liz (2007-03-10). "Bank to aid health centers". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2007/03/10/bank_to_aid_health_centers/. Retrieved on 2007-08-22.

  40. ^ Freer, Jim (2007-03-09). "BofA donates $1M to Camillus House". South Florida Business Journal. http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2007/03/05/daily40.html. Retrieved on 2007-08-22.


Further reading
Bonadio, Felice A. (1994). A.P. Giannini: Banker of America. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. ISBN 0520082494.
Hector, Gary (1988). Breaking the Bank: The Decline of BankAmerica. Boston: Little, Brown. ISBN 0316353922.
James, Marquie; James, Bessie (1954). Biography of a Bank: The Story of Bank of America N.T.&S.A.. New York: Harper and Brothers.
Johnston, Moira (1990). Roller Coaster: The Bank of America and the Future of American Banking. New York: Ticknor & Fields.
Josephson, Matthew (1972). The Money Lords; the great finance capitalists, 1925-1950. New York: Weybright and Talley.
Lampert, Hope (1986). Behind Closed Doors: Wheeling and Dealing in the Banking World. New York: Atheneum.
Light, Larry (2007-10-01). "Cover Story - Money for the Masses". Forbes Magazine.
Monnette, Orra Eugene. Personal Papers Collection. Los Angeles, CA: Los Angeles Public Library.
Nash, Gerald G. (1992). A.P. Giannini and the Bank of America. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press.
Yockey, Ross (1999). McColl: The Man with America's Money. Atlanta: Longstreet Press.
Ahmed, Azam; Demirjian, Karoun (2007-02-15). "Credit offered to illegal residents". Chicago Tribune.

External links

Companies portal
Media related to Bank of America at Wikimedia Commons
Bankofamerica.com Homepage



Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_America

Note: Highlights, Bolds, and "Italics" added (used) for emphasis.......................Arsenio.

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