FleetBoston Financial Corp.
said third-quarter profit fell 24 percent as the seventh-biggest
U.S. bank lost money in Argentina and on investments in
telecommunications companies.
Net income dropped to $579 million, or 55 cents a share, from
$766 million, or 70 cents, in the same period last year, the
company said. Revenue fell 13 percent to $2.87 billion.
Chief Executive Chad Gifford is working to sell more loans
and mutual funds to U.S. consumers after Argentina’s debt default
pushed the bank to a second-quarter net loss of $386 million. The
bank, which shut its unprofitable Robertson Stephens investment
bank in July, said core U.S. deposits rose 13 percent from the
same period a year earlier.
“The benefits of the refocus are evident this quarter,”
said Tim Ghriskey, who manages $100 million at Ghriskey Capital
Partners LLC and sold his FleetBoston shares last year. “We’re
glad they finally made the decision to focus on core operations.”
Bloomberg News
