Bank of America shareholders, looking for an increase in the current penny quarterly dividend on common stock, will have to be patient for a while longer, notes Grumpy Editor.
The latest dividend outlook this week wasn’t given much coverage by media.
CEO and President Brian Moynihan, at the Barclays Capital 2010 Global Financial Services Conference in New York Tuesday, said BofA will raise the one-cent quarterly “as soon as we can.” He also said the bank’s balance sheet will shrink in coming years.
Amplifying that, he explained new regulations passed by Congress in July plus global banking regulations proposed last Sunday may trim annual revenue.
The low quarterly payout has been in effect since March, 2009. Until that time, BofA had been increasing its dividends for 30 years. Dividends have been paid since 1903.
The largest U.S. bank by assets was paying shareholders a lofty quarterly dividend of 64 cents a share in September, 2008, before cutting it in half to 32 cents three months later as the credit crisis worsened.
Taking a familiar route in efforts to bolster the bottom line, the bank is eyeing additional fees on patrons.
"We will increase the account balance minimums or charge monthly fees in lieu thereof, which is the choice of the customer," Moynihan mentioned at the New York conference. The bank also will be reducing staff and the number of branches in efforts to cut costs, he added.
With about 5,900 retail banking offices, the bank said it serves about 57 million consumer and small business customers.
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