Bank of America CEO: Recession “feel” may last year

Jonathan Stempel
Reuters
Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Bank of America Corp (BAC.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis said on Wednesday it may feel to some people for the next year as if the U.S. economy is in recession.

“I think we’ll start a gradual recovery toward the middle of next year,” Lewis said in a speech in Los Angeles. “Until then, depending on what sector of the economy you’re in, it will feel slow, and may feel like a recession.”

Lewis, head of the country’s largest retail bank, spoke near the former home of Countrywide Financial Corp.

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Bank of America rescued the largest U.S. mortgage lender last week in a $2.5 billion acquisition.

On Tuesday, the chief executive of another major U.S. retail bank, JPMorgan Chase & Co’s (JPM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Jamie Dimon, said market conditions “could actually get worse.”

Lewis said borrowers will remain cautious, pinched by $4 a gallon gasoline, soaring food costs, and plunging housing prices, including declines of nearly 30 percent in California.

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