Banking

Shares of Bank of America Corp. closed at $11.25 on another brutal day for the broader markets, and the Charlotte bank's stock is now down by more than half in less than three weeks.

Bob Steel said this week that he's not sure what he'll do when his short gig as Wachovia Corp. chief executive ends. But he's already got one commitment inked on his calendar. Last week, the Aspen Institute announced that Steel will be the next chairman of its board of trustees.

Ben Williams, once a rising star in Wachovia Corp.'s investment bank, will leave after the Charlotte bank is bought by Wells Fargo & Co., according to internal bank memos circulated Friday.

IBM Corp. plans to announce today that it has added Charlotte's LendingTree Loans as a customer at a unit that provides back-office and technology functions for mortgage lending.

Wachovia Corp.'s chief executive said Thursday the bank's sale to Wells Fargo & Co. is progressing appropriately but that the details won't be wrapped up as quickly as some people might like.

Shares of Bank of America Corp. closed at $11.25 on another brutal day for the broader markets, and the Charlotte bank's stock is now down by more than half in less than three weeks.

GMAC Financial Services, the troubled lender applying to become a bank holding company, is negotiating for office space in Ballantyne for a possible move of its headquarters to Charlotte, a source familiar with the situation said today.

Wachovia's chief executive said this morning that the bank's sale to Wells Fargo is progressing appropriately, but that the details won't be wrapped up as quickly as some people might like.

Two of the struggling Detroit Three automakers should combine and prove to the government they are worthy of a $25 billion rescue package being considered for them, Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis said Tuesday.