Released: October 23, 2011

BofA loses rank as nation’s biggest bank

Source: E. Scott Reckard, Los Angeles Times

Bank of America Corp. lost its title as the nation's biggest bank, and the mission for its beleaguered chief executive now is to convince Wall Street that it's better off for it. Brian Moynihan is tasked with turning around the company's struggling consumer empire just as rival JPMorgan Chase & Co. surpassed BofA's $2.2 trillion in assets. It marks the end of an era for a bank known for a near-obsessive zeal for acquisitions and growth, and the start of a new chapter in which the bank hopes to slim down to raise profitability. "We don't have to be the biggest company out there; we have to be the best," Moynihan has been telling his employees, investors and analysts. He believes the strategy will revive the company, which on Tuesday reported that revenue fell during the third quarter in five of its six main business lines.

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