BofA sees how low it can go; Bank pays less than rivals for deposits; has eye on merger.(News)

Crain's New York Business, December, 2005

Byline: Tom Fredrickson In an increasingly brutal battle to woo customers in an ever-more-crowded market by offering them high returns on their deposits, one bank is refusing to play ball--and is losing deposits as a result. The surprise is that the holdout is not just any local bank, but the leading retail bank in the nation, Bank of America.

"All I have heard consistently for the last six months is that the rates paid specifically in the New York City metro market are high and very competitive to the point of all-out war,'' says Jackie Reeves, an analyst with Ryan Beck & Co. "The fact that Bank of America is lowballing rates is intriguing.'' Bank of America is offering considerably less than other big banks, from rates paid on savings accounts to...

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