Bank of America to sell Canadian, European credit card business

Bank of America has announced it plans to sell its Canadian credit card business to TD Bank Group, as well as its European credit card business. Boston University master lecturer Mark Williams is an expert on risk management and teaches finance at the BU School of Management. A former Federal Reserve Bank examiner, he’s the author of Uncontrolled Risk: The Lessons of Lehman Brothers. He offers the following comment on the actions of Bank of America:

“A bank that sells such businesses when unemployment and card defaults are over 9 percent is a signal of financial trouble. When BofA bought its credit card business in Canada and parts of Europe, it was hailed as another brick in the North American and abroad strategy. What has changed in the last decade? Bank of America is turning into America’s shrinking bank.”

Contact Williams at 617-358-2789; williams@bu.edu