Today's Top Stories Also Noted: Spotlight On... Charlotte suffers amid bank slump News From the Fierce Network: Today's Top News1. Bank of America continues to reduce ATMs
With Project New BAC in full swing, no one should be surprised by the news that Bank of America has reduced the number of ATMs in the field by 9 percent this year. The number of bank ATMs fell 1,536 in the first half, leaving 16,220 as of June 30. As of now, the bank with the most ATMs is JPMorgan, which operates 18,132. Wells Fargo operates about 12,000. Citigroup operates about 10,000. Bloomberg Businessweek reports that Bank of America replaced its machines at locales owned by Simon Property Group, a major owner of shopping malls, and gas station operator Valero Energy. To be sure, the ATMs that were retired were among the least functional. Most of the bank's ATMs at malls and gas stations only dispense cash. They do not allow for check deposits, and they are not available 24 hours a day, which makes them seem like anachronisms. They were also expensive to operate, as the bank had to lease space from the owners. In the end, it's hard to call this a major step backwards. The move certainly fits with management's desire to reduce the bank's footprint in general. The bank is also bent on reducing the number of bank branches it operates. However, the bank's online efforts have drawn praise, and it is continuing to invest in its mobile offerings. For more: Related articles:
Read more about: Bank of America, ATMs 2. Crude questions in Wall Street interviews
CNBC offers an interesting look at the tough questions (collected by Wall Street Oasis) posed to would-be hires on Wall Street. The point usually is to give the interviewers a sense of how an interviewee thinks. Right answers aren't expected. In some cases, there is no right answer. So you get questions like: If you were shrunk to the size of a pencil and put in a blender, how would you get out?, What's your outlook for cucumber prices over the course of 2012?, If you could choose, what brand would you like to be and why?, And, How many balls would it take to fill Central Park? These sorts of questions aren't unique to Wall Street. At top tech companies, these sorts of questions are also routinely asked. Companies like Google indeed have raised such interviewing to an art form. There are a few things that distinguish the Wall Street interview, however. For one thing, there's a premium placed on getting a sense for how an interviewee will perform under pressure, prompting questions like" You're going to be working 110 hours a week here. Can you even handle that? And, Why don't you have any offers yet? What's wrong with you? What really sets the industry apart in the interviewing process is the element of crudeness. Questions like: If I told you that the only way you were going to get this job is if you let me sleep with your girlfriend, would you accept?, Are you trying to f--- us over? And, Have you ever cheated on your partner? At some companies, management would be horrified that such questions were being asked. Not on Wall Street. For more: Read more about: Job Interview, jobs 3. JPMorgan mutual fund being probed
Did a JPMorgan Chase mutual fund violate ERISA by holding as much as 13 percent of total assets in mortgage debt underwritten by the bank itself? That's the focus of a newly launched investigation by the Labor Department. The bank, which has since reduced the holdings of such debt to about 4 percent, was similarly targeted by private litigation, alleging much the same. It's unclear whether that suit will attain class action status. As noted by Reuters, "employers with 401(k) plans were unaware of the private mortgage component of the fund until after the 2008 market crash, according to retirement plan consultants who worked with companies that held the portfolios." The issues would appear to be straightforward: were the holdings adequately disclosed to 401(k) participants? Were there any undue conflicts of interests? If a formal Labor Department investigation finds JPMorgan violated ERISA, it will likely sue the bank. One issue is whether other JPMorgan mutual funds were similarly invested in JPMorgan products. The bank suffered some negative publicity recently when the bank was said by former employees to favor its own products in its wealth management units, even though non-JPMorgan products might have been better for clients. For more: Related articles: Read more about: Mutual Funds, JPMorgan 4. PR move from Citigroup chairman sends message
Michael O'Neill has tough job. As the relatively new chairman of Citigroup, he has a lot on his plate, and it's imperative that he strike the right tone, which is exactly what he achieved his article that appeared in the WSJ. The article, which reflects some good PR work by his people, notes that he "has been peppering employees, executives and fellow directors with questions about how Citigroup works and what it does to make money…. O'Neill has taken a close interest in operations during meetings with employees in New York and London, said people close to the company." The message is that O'Neill will be a much more involved chairman. He will not sit back and play the elder statesman role, which was the approach taken by his predecessor, Richard Parsons. The article describes him as a "nitty-gritty operations guy" who "understands what he doesn't understand." In addition, "O'Neill also has begun sounding out large shareholders about the executive compensation plan shareholders rejected this spring in a black eye for the company." The larger goal of the piece might have been to put management on notice. "O'Neill has told colleagues that his goal is to understand the company well enough 'so that when Vikram tells him what he wants to do, he can push back,' said a person familiar with his thinking. According to another person who knows him, O'Neill has been 'dissatisfied with the level of granular detail on the board and wants to roll up his sleeves and get more involved.' " I am not sure what CEO Vikram Pandit thinks of all this. He was not quoted for the article, which was surely intended to make a strong impression on people inside and outside of the bank. For more: Related articles: Read more about: board, Citigroup 5. VC firms embrace public relations
There's been a big change taking place in the VC industry as of late. Not too long ago, the top firms shunned any sort of publicity, considering all forms of promotional outreach a bit tacky at best. But the New York Times notes that, "Venture capitalists are hiring full-time public relations experts to tell bloggers and reporters of their investing prowess. They publicize their every doing and thought on Twitter and in blog posts. In the last year, several top firms have hired people to handle marketing, branding and public relations full time. Among them: Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Lightspeed Venture Partners and True Ventures. Many others, like Benchmark Capital, New Enterprise Associates and Greylock Partners, keep public relations firms on retainer." Andreessen Horowitz went so far as to hire Margit Wennmachers, a founder of the Outcast Communications PR firm, as more than "just a hired gun. Ms. Wennmachers was instrumental in the firm's initial coverage and she was made a full partner, sitting at the table at the earliest stages of investment decisions." She's full partner at the firm. This trend was inevitable, and these firms cannot afford to let others define them, which will surely happen if they do not proactively define themselves. For more: Related articles:
Read more about: Public Relations, Pr Also NotedSPOTLIGHT ON... Charlotte suffers amid bank slump Bank of America and Wells Fargo have made workforce reductions a focus as they seek to corral expenses, but such moves are making it harder for the city of Charlotte to exercise fiscal discipline. Moody's has taken note, and has said that given the city's dependence on the two banks, the city would need to continue "extreme fiscal discipline" to remain stable in the midst of job reductions. As of now, the bonds are not on formal review. Article Company News: Industry News:
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Wednesday, July 25, 2012
| 07.25.12 | Bank of America continues to reduce ATMs
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