BofA official says credit environment remains difficult

By Ieva M. Augstums - The Associated Press

CHARLOTTE -- Bank of America on Thursday reiterated that the current credit environment will remain difficult into next year, as unemployment is likely to continue to rise.

Brian Moynihan, head of the bank's consumer and small business banking units, told investors at the BancAnalysts Association of Boston Conference that Bank of America is starting to see some stabilization in the credit card business, but challenges remain.

The Charlotte-based bank has about 53 million consumer and small business customers, making it vulnerable to delinquencies and defaults, yet also ready to thrive when the economy recovers.

“This is going to be hard work in the next several quarters in the credit card business,” Moynihan said. “It's going to be a substantial number of quarters until we see charge-offs return to levels which we are more comfortable with.”

Net charge-offs is the amount of debt it does not expect to be repaid.

In his comments, Moynihan discussed consumer behaviors in relation to credit cards and the economic and regulatory landscape. He did not go into details on mortgages or other specific loans.

In the third quarter, Bank of America lost more than $2.2 billion as loan losses kept rising, providing evidence that consumers are still struggling to pay their bills.

As a result of the current environment, Moynihan said, the business ultimately will be smaller than it once was, and the industry will not see as great an amount of profits. Credit card issuers are becoming pickier about their customers, he said.

“We were giving too many cards to too many people,” he said. “Now, we can be more selective.”

The bank is also considered particularly vulnerable to unemployment, which climbed in September to 9.8 percent in the U.S.

The Labor Department is expected to release last month's jobless rate today. Analysts project that the unemployment rate rose to 9.9 percent in October. Economists predict the jobless rate will pass 10 percent in the coming months.

Moynihan has been named by analysts as a possible successor to BofA CEO Ken Lewis, who is stepping down at year's end. Moynihan served as president of Bank of America's global wealth and investment management operation before taking on his current role.