BofA to Lay Off 30,000 Employees; Moody’s Downgrades 2 French Banks

Bank of America confirmed on Monday that it plans to cut at least 30,000 jobs from the company, and eliminate $5 billion in costs annually by 2014. The banking  behemoth  currently employs 288,000 people. The first group of employees to be eliminated will be those working in consumer banking operations, and home loans, technology and support operations.   Louise Story, Wall Street and finance reporter for  The New York Times, tells us if these layoffs are a sign or BofA’s massive restructuring, or a sign that the banking industry is changing.
She also reports on a story rocking the financial markets this morning. On Wednesday, the credit ratings agency Moody’s downgraded its ratings of two of France’s largest banks. The downgrades were expected by investors, yet wreaked havoc on the markets in Europe and Asia. Economists have voiced worries about the exposure of three of France’s leading banks to Greece and the Greek debt crisis.