Bank of America still not hip with the super wealthy

Posted Apr 4th 2007 1:53PM by Tom Taulli
Filed under: Deals, Consumer Experience, Competitive Strategy, Bank of America (BAC)

Back in November, Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) agreed to shell out $3.3 billion for U.S. Trust, a bank that focuses on the super wealthy. Only five months later and the deal is already going sideways [subscription required]. The CEO of U.S. Trust, Peter Scaturro, is going to leave by summer.

I'm not surprised. When the deal was struck, several friends of mine from U.S. Trust left to go to other private banks. They told me that there would be a culture clash, so why jeopardize clients?

This was exactly the case with contended issues ranging from serious to funny. For example, one dispute was whether to charge clients ATM fees (to me, if a client has $100 million with your bank, it does sound kind of petty). Another issue was investment selections -- should Bank of America push its own products?

This is not to say that the deal will implode. It's smart that Bank of America is taking quick action, but to get things back on track, it may mean letting U.S. Trust have its own identity – lest more financial advisors and perhaps clients move elsewhere.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.

Tags: bac, bank of america, BankOfAmerica, U.S. Trust, U.s.Trust, Wealth management, WealthManagement

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

4-05-2007 @ 10:29AM

staci said...

I believe Bank of America is petty. For instance, I received a check for goods, drawn on Bank of America and went to the new branch in our neighborhood to cash it. They charged me a fee of $5.00 to cash the check, even though it was from one of their account holders. It is not the amount, but the principle. They said because I was not an account holder. I was considering switching, out of convenience to their bank. Now I will not switch. Not to mention I have told anyone who wants to listen. I hope it effects their new account sign ups.....even if by only one.

4-12-2007 @ 11:27PM

brian sanders said...

I beg to differ about the comment about Bank of America. Actually their credit card is really the best you can possibly get and people out there just don't realize in the long run just how good a deal
they really give You. They can give You that true
financial bridge that someone can really hope for.

I was certainly estatic the day they increased my
credit line. To this day I don't think I could have
made it without them.