Bank of America Corp is looking to diversify its investment banking business by doing more equity underwriting and merger advisory work and by winning more clients outside the United States, a senior executive said on Tuesday. Underwriting debt "has been one of great strengths, but clearly the business is changing" as industry-wide volumes look set to fall in 2014, said Christian Meissner, head of global corporate and investment banking at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, at an investor conference in New York organized by Deutsche Bank.Bank of America has been more reliant than its competitors on generating fees from underwriting debt. In 2013, debt issuance accounted for nearly 60 percent of total investment banking fees, compared to nearly 56 percent at JPMorgan Chase & Co and around 39 percent for Goldman Sachs Group Inc .Focusing more on advising clients on mergers is already starting to pay off. So far this year, Bank of America has advised on 22 merger deals with values in excess of $5 billion, compared with seven over the same period in 2013 and three over the same period in 2012, according to a presentation from Meissner."To some extent there's a rush to the finish" in terms of deals, Meissner said. Clients are saying "I better do my deal sooner rather than later," before interest rates rise, he added.
Bank of America Corporation (Bank of America) is a bank holding company, and a financial holding company. Shares of BAC traded higher by 3.4% or $0.5/share to $15.22. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $12.13 and as high as $18.03. On average, 98570800 shares of BAC exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 125371584.
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (Goldman Sachs), is a global investment banking, securities and investment management firm that provides a range of financial services to a substantial and diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments and high-net-worth individuals. Shares of GS traded higher by 1.01% or $1.61/share to $161.77. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $148.71 and as high as $181.13. On average, 3266540 shares of GS exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 3256763.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPMorgan Chase) is a financial holding company. Shares of JPM traded higher by 1.12% or $0.61/share to $55.14. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $50.06 and as high as $61.48. On average, 18640700 shares of JPM exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 14503532.
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