March 29, 2024

DealBook: Bank of America Sells Canadian Credit Card Business

Bank of America took steps on Monday to exit the international credit card business, agreeing to sell off its $8.6 billion Canadian card venture to the TD Bank Group for an undisclosed amount and putting its remaining European card portfolio on the block.

With the announcements, Bank of America continued the push to overhaul its credit card business as the bank reels from hefty losses in its troubled mortgage division. While dumping the international card business, Bank of America has largely retained its card loans in the United States, among other core assets. The bank said it hopes the deals will shore up its capital ratios.

“Our strategy is clear: We have been transforming the company to deliver the franchise to our core customer groups, and building a fortress balance sheet behind that,” Brian T. Moynihan, the chief executive, said in a statement. “While the credit card remains a fundamental core product for our U.S. customers, an international consumer card business under another brand is not consistent with that strategy.”

Since Mr. Moynihan took over in early 2010, the bank has sold some 20 different businesses for roughly $30 billion. One big deal was announced in May, as the bank shed its remaining stake in BlackRock for $2.5 billion.

The moves come as Bank of America, the nation’s biggest bank by assets, struggles to regain its footing in the aftermath of the financial crisis. The beleaguered bank announced an $8.8 billion second-quarter loss after it agreed to settle huge legal claims surrounding its ill-fated acquisition of the subprime mortgage lender Countrywide Financial.

The bank’s stock price has been beaten down, too, hovering around $7 for much of the month. Bank of America shares rose more than 2 percent on Monday in premarket trading.

The announcements on Monday are Bank of America’s latest attempts to shed portions of its sprawling credit card business.

Earlier this month, the bank agreed to sell its Spanish credit card portfolio to Apollo Capital Management, the giant private equity firm. In April, Bank of America sold its $200 million small business credit card loans to Barclays.

The TD Bank Group, in addition to buying Bank of America’s $8.6 billion Canadian credit card business, agreed to purchase various other assets and liabilities for an undisclosed amount, according to a bank statement. The bank said it expected the deal to close in the fourth quarter.

The remaining European card portfolios are even bigger assets for Bank of America. The bank manages a combined $19 billion in credit card loans in Britain and Ireland, which it now plans to sell. That business employs about 4,000 people.

Article source: http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/08/15/bank-of-america-sells-canadian-credit-card-business/?partner=rss&emc=rss

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