Bank of America’s $292m burn linked to Steinhoff saga
New York — Bank of America (BofA) just joined a roster of big US lenders suffering multimillion-dollar burns on their dealings linked to Steinhoff International Holdings. Fourth-quarter earnings were crimped by a $292m "single-name non-US commercial charge-off", the Charlotte, North Carolina-based company said on Wednesday in a statement announcing results. The costs were incurred in two divisions: global markets and global banking. The company got stung providing a margin loan that used Steinhoff’s stock as collateral, according to a person briefed on the matter who asked not to be identified discussing client business. Shares of the embattled South African retailer lost about 90% of their value last month after it announced December 5 that it had uncovered accounting irregularities. BofA has examined "the credit that we have to this borrower and we feel very comfortable at this point that we’ve taken the appropriate charge-off", chief financial officer Paul Donofrio told reporters...
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