The new CEO says he’s aware his challenges are only beginning.
“When you’re in the middle of a very difficult time, what you need to do is pretty obvious,” says Moynihan, a boyish-looking 50, in an interview at his office on the 58th floor of BofA’s Charlotte headquarters. “The harder part of success is in calmer times. You have to be more disciplined, more focused.”
Part of the challenge for Moynihan going forward will be streamlining the operations of Merrill and mortgage lender Countrywide, two prominent casualties of the financial fallout that have been absorbed into BofA. Another will be improving the health of the bank’s business lines, even as regulatory measures threaten to crimp the company’s earnings.
But perhaps the bank’s most daunting task will be to regain the public’s trust after the implosion of Wall Street-created exotic instruments that helped plunge the nation into recession, gutting Lehman Bros. and bringing other competitors close to collapse.
Read more from USA Today
I have a complaint about your collection department and their harassing phone calls daily. My husband lost his Federal Job with the Army National Guard last July. Until April of 2010 we kept up on house payments. We had sent a letter in July 2009 appraising your company that my husband was unemployed and could we refinance loan. We “never” heard back from your company not once. Last Friday 6/11/2010 I spoke to someone named Al in your collection department and told him I had made April payment that day, would make May 2010 payment 6/25/2010 and June 2010 payment on July 9, 2010 and July house payment 7/23/2010 as my husband has had to go to Afghanistan and Al thanked me and said I would still get a call once a week until caught up but to refer person to notes of 6/11/2010 as I had been previously told by other collectors. Since Friday 6/11/2010 I have been called and harassed “every” day by collection dept. employees and when I have told them to read the notes they want to verify payment dates again, home phone number, cell phone number etc. even though I have told them. I have asked to speak to the manager and the last person told me unless I verified everything again I “could not” speak to manager. These gestapo tactics will not work and will cause me to contact the better business bureau. You say you are trying to help the little guy, yet the calls are coming more often and they are stepping up their actions. Now that I have been able to give your company a set date for payments you are harassing me night and day. If you even read this e-mail Mr. Moynihan, you will probably not even respond but instead have one of your many assistants do the work, you being so important and me just being a recently retired State employee, based on a disability. Your company never responded months ago to my letter, why would you respond now? My direct phone number is (702) 459-9238 and my cell phone is (702) 810-5252. I have had to lose my husband to another country in order for us to make enough money to pay our interest only loan payments to your country, so don’t lie to people and act like you care because from my lane the closer I get to catching up on payments the more beligerrent your collection department has become.