Bank of America will shed most of its remaining stake in China Construction Bank for about $6.6bn as the embattled lender looks for ways to boost its capital position to appease nervous investors.
The second-largest US bank by assets said it would sell about 10.4bn shares in the Chinese lender to unidentified investors, netting about $2.9bn in profit or $1.8bn after tax. The North Carolina-based firm will keep 2.1bn shares in the Chinese bank, down from 25.6bn at the end of last year.
The move to pare its stake in CCB is in line with BofA chief executive Brian Moynihan’s strategy to reduce the balance sheet and dump non-core assets. It has already jettisoned a Canadian credit card division, sold an insurance unit and announced plans to retreat from some European operations.