Bank of America shareholders gathered for their annual meeting in Uptown Charlotte Wednesday morning.
Four years after the financial crisis, these meetings have settled into a familiar routine: a few dozen protesters wave signs outside while activist investors control the microphone inside. Today was no different, but the meeting did have a different atmosphere.
For the second largest bank in the country, this annual meeting sure got off on a folksy foot.
Bank of America held its annual shareholders' meeting in Charlotte today. CEO Brian Moynihan began the meeting highlighting the company's financial gains. He says the company has seen large growth in deposits and credit card accounts and has helped close to 2 million homeowners avoid foreclosure. He says internally, the company has been able to reduce costs to more quickly increase payouts for its shareholders.
We've already established that Bank of America's 2008 acquisition of Countrywide was a costly move – and a mistake in the view of many. The Charlotte bank has spent tens of billions of dollars on settlements and losses tied to that mountain of messed-up mortgages. On Monday, Bank of America made some important progress.
Another day, another settlement - or really two, in the case of Bank of America. And these are far from the last we'll expect to see.
