In the midst of an uproar over the sector’s weak small business lending and its own alleged role in the financial crisis, Bank of America today struck back with a report on its role in the economic recovery that includes extending $758 billion in 2009.
It provided more credit “than any other U.S. bank,” BofA said in the headline of its press release – one day after the New York Attorney General filed a civil fraud suit against the top lender and two former top executives alleging that the government and shareholders were misled in its 2008 merger with Merrill Lynch.
“This merger is a classic example of how the actions of our nation’s largest financial institutions led to the near-collapse of our financial system,” said Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.
Through a spokesman yesterday, the bank denied the allegations and said the institution and former CEO Kenneth Lewis and former CFO Joseph Price acted legally and in good faith.
BofA today issued no formal response, but focused on its latest “Lending & Investing Report,” which the bank said delivers on its promise to provide greater transparency in its lending initiatives.
“Bank of America can only succeed by doing all we can to contribute to the success of our customers, clients and the communities we serve,” said Brian T. Moynihan, president and chief executive officer, who succeeded Lewis on Jan. 1. “The state of the national economy will continue to have a tremendous influence on our shared progress. But the recovery is underway. Bank of America contributed to this recovery by extending more than $758 billion in credit across both the consumer and commercial sectors, more than any other U.S. bank.
Of the total credit extended, the bank said it provided more than $16 billion in new credit to small businesses last year. It also assisted more than 60,000 small businesses by modifying payment structures to improve their monthly cash flows during the recession. Bank of America has announced it will increase 2010 lending to small- and medium-sized businesses by $5 billion.
BofA also surpassed a milestone of lending more than $1 billion to Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), becoming the nation’s largest single lender to this group that extends credit to low-income, hard-hit neighborhoods in the forms of small business lending, housing and other community projects.
Bank of America reported a $5.2 billion loss for the fourth quarter, driven largely by its repayment in December of the $45 billion it received from the government’s bailout program.
