As the home of Bank of America and Wachovia Bank, it's no surprise that the city of Charlotte is starting to question what will become of its spot as a major banking center in the United States. Both have seen their stock prices plummet over the past year. Wachovia's CEO, Ken Thomspon who earned over $16M in 2006, was asked to step down in April. Bank of America announced heavy job cuts following its acquisition of Countrywide Financial. The issues with these two giant banks is more than just shareholders losing money or jobs being cut though. Doug Smith, a columnist for the Charlotte Observer, discussed how problems with the banks is something that affects the whole city.
"Today, Charlotte’s two big banks are busy defending their actions to analysts and holding off angry shareholders. In Banktown, it’s safe to say everyone is on edge."
The future of these banks is uncertain, especially after the near fire sale of Bear Stearns to JP Morgan in March. I think it is safe to say that more consolidation will come as the weak are snapped up by the strong, just as Bank of America did with Countrywide, which is another story in of itself.
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