BofA seeks to repay $45 billion by year-end: report
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp wants to pay back $45 billion in bail-out funds by the end of the year, accelerated by a program to raise capital, the Financial Times reported on its website late on Wednesday.
The largest U.S. bank by assets is on track to raise more than $35 billion in capital by the end of September, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.
Bank of America said on Tuesday it raised $13.47 billion through a share sale, marking a major step toward meeting the U.S. government's requirements for capital-raising following the recent "stress testing" of the bank.
Including proceeds from the sale of part of its stake in China Construction Bank Corp for $7.3 billion, the bank is now more than halfway to plugging a $33.9 billion capital shortfall identified by the government.
The report also said the bank is in negotiations to sell some of its non-core assets.
The bank believes it can raise $6 billion to $7 billion of after-tax capital from the sale of assets such as private bank First Republic, administration group Financial Data Services and insurer Balboa, the report said.
The bank could also convert $9 billion in preferred shares and as much as $2 billion-plus in deferred tax gains, the report added.
(Reporting by Jui Chakravorty; Editing by Andre Grenon)
