Credit woes push Bank of America into shock loss

Outgoing chief executive Ken Lewis blamed continuing stress on the cash-strapped consumer and continued high credit costs for the worse-than-expected figure, which compares to a $1.2bn profit last year. It is the last set of results to be overseen by Lewis who will step down at the end of the year. It will be an ignominious exit for Lewis who has been heavily criticised by regulators and shareholders for buying credit crunch victim Merrill Lynch and putting the previously well-capitalised bank at risk of collapse. Bank of America is the fourth Wall Street giant to report its third-...