Is Cryptocurrency Threatening Earnings at Bank of America? (thenextweb.com) 49
An anonymous reader quotes The Next Web:
One of the world's largest financial institutions admitted in its annual report that cryptocurrency is a looming threat to its business model. According to a report filed with the SEC by Bank of America, "Clients may choose to conduct business with other market participants who engage in business or offer products in areas we deem speculative or risky, such as cryptocurrencies. Increased competition may negatively affect our earnings by creating pressure to lower prices or credit standards on our products and services requiring additional investment to improve the quality and delivery of our technology and/or reducing our market share, or affecting the willingness of clients to do business with us."
Re: (Score:2)
You must be on some very serious meds. I hate to tell you but the people that run the world aren't going to let go of their control. Quite the contrary. Soon you wont be able to use cash even. If they hate that you know they're not putting up with decentralized digital cash.
Just make your own cryptocurrency (Score:2)
I don't partake in cryptocurrencies but (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:I don't partake in cryptocurrencies but (Score:5, Interesting)
Bank of America is the worst bank ever. I've never seen anything that bad in my 58 years on this earth.
Re: I don't partake in cryptocurrencies but (Score:1)
Hey man, you know the difference between a prostituting yourself and Bank of America.
In a whorehouse, they pay you to get screwed. Bank of America makes you pay for it.
Re: (Score:2)
What, you mean there is a bank on this planet that is actually WORSE than the Commonwealth Bank here in Australia?
Re:I don't partake in cryptocurrencies but (Score:5, Insightful)
I honestly couldn't care less what Bank of America thinks about anything at all.
SEC filings don't indicate what companies think. The rules for SEC filings are simple:
1. If you leave something out, you may get sued.
2. If you put something in, it can't hurt you because nobody reads them.
So companies tend to just toss any possible threat into the document, no matter how implausible. If they later get a shareholder lawsuit, they can point to the SEC filing and say "Hey, we warned you".
The mention of bitcoin in BOA's SEC filing just means their lawyers are doing their job and nothing else. It certainly does not mean they see it as a plausible threat.
Re:I don't partake in cryptocurrencies but (Score:5, Interesting)
Another reason is, Bank of America is actively patenting crypto currency schemes [cryptovest.com]. The natural progression isn't for traditional banks to become more crypto-like, it's for crypto to become more centralized and they're taking steps to do so, and listings like this notify their shareholders they're going to spend some resources to get their fingers into this market... on their own terms.
Re: (Score:2)
I hope it hurts. If you've ever had a low-balance debit card from Bank of America which was only used for use by a child or for grocery shopping with a SO, you would have found that they let the card's balance go negative, charge large fees, and continue to allow transactions, all without promptly notifying you that there is any problem. They found a legal way to pick the pockets of their customers. Bank of America is like tour guide that provides a useful service, but robs the customers whenever the opport
Nah (Score:1)
If you've ever read those SEC filings, you'll realize that the company's lawyers put together a huge laundry list of potential threats to the corporation just in case something bad happens, and there's a shareholder lawsuit alleging that senior management knew but said nothing.
Re: (Score:2)
It's Saturday Night in the Eastern US time zone... really meaty Slashdot is published during the workweek.
Before everyone gets too excited (Score:5, Interesting)
My point is, don't go expecting crypto currencies to shake up out monetary and/or banking system to any real degree. If you want to see meaningful change you need to get behind guys like Dylan Ratigan. [youtube.com]
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
They're required by law to call out any and all risks in these statements, no matter how remote. Also, the big worry is not so much serious competition from crypto currencies but that they might have to spend money responding to them. Bank of America, like most major US banks, has more than enough power to reign crypto currencies in before they're any real threat to them.
In addition, BofA called out why they're not currently a real threat too, with the 'speculative' line. Is it possible cryptocurrency could become huge for real? Yes. Is it possible when your non-technical Facebook friends are going all frenzy without knowing what "cryptocurrency" means? Nope. BofA knows this. They'll know when to take it seriously.
Their own policies might hurt them (Score:3)
Clients may choose to conduct business with other market participants who engage in business or offer products in areas we deem speculative or risky, such as cryptocurrencies
They're basically talking about BoA's choice to BAN customers using a portion of their own money taken from their deposits with BoA to buy or sell Crypto from/to a crypto exchange. BECAUSE Clients may choose to conduct this business, these clients may close their BoA accounts and/or move their funds to a BoA competitor; as a result of BoA's policy which restricts their clients' use of their clients' deposits ---- Basically Clients may choose to conduct business.... Meaning they WILL NOT tolerate BoA's Attempt to RESTRICT customers from using customers' own moneywith business in areas "BoA deems too risky or speculative" to allow business, and basically say F**** YOU to BoA for trying to impede their business with those speculative exchanges.
I think YEAH.... BoA should definitely list that as a risk, and I hope more and more customers will wake up to BoA's shady practices and unreasonable/arbitrary policies and restrictions on customers' use of funds
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Plus BofA is doing everything it can to antagonize their customers by raising fees and eliminating free accounts. They wonder why people are going crypto ?
They purchased a small bank I used many years ago, after 1 year of dealing with them I fled and urged everyone I know to do the same. They are the worse.
Monopoly? You can't put houses there... (Score:2)
Bank of America dreams of being a monopoly, but they don't control enough of any one group of things to get their monopoly rent. There's so many scams against the young there, that BoA is falling into an eventual insolvency.
GOOD (Score:2)
GOOD
Re: (Score:1)
Snapchat did not lose real money. They lost stock 'value' which is only a value if they can sell the stock at that price. The 'value' was not drained from their bank accounts. Stock prices and crypto currencies are pretty much the same, a token of 'value' who value changes on the whim of popularity. Stock are more refined however.
Betteridge. (Score:2)
Nothing to see, move along. Corporations are required to list any and all potential threats in SEC filings. BofA is likely equally threatened by alien invasion.
You mean PROFITS! (Score:1)
Earnings are something you have actually ... you know ... EARNED.
That means you have worked for it in return! And an amount that is worth that money too!
What banks do has nothing to do with earnings. Nobody works there to actually create anything of value. They only work to avoid having to do the former. By taking money from people who actually work, legally making up money based on that money ($12.50 for every $1), and play with it in a way that makes others give them even more money for not working or jus
Increased competition ... (Score:3)
Welcome to the free market. Did you BofA execs actually study Adam Smith in college? Or were you sleeping off a drinking binge at the frat house that day?
Re: (Score:2)
They have to disclose
Admittedly, I did not read through their actual annual report. Did they disclose that wells Fargo is a looming threat to its business model? Or that Citi Bank might create pressure to lower prices or credit standards on our products and services. Or Key Bank might reduce our market share, or affect the willingness of clients to do business with us?
Because if they didn't disclose those material risks, I'm going to complain to the SEC.
Re: (Score:2)
And that's why I count all military expenses related to actions in the middle east subsidies to the petroleum industries. Of course, it also strengthens the dollar, so it had economic advantages, as well as expenses, to the US.
A Month or Two Ago (Score:1)
Nothing to see here (Score:2)
These financial statements have to list all kinds of contingencies that may or may not affect earning: "an asteroid may strike the earth, wiping out all life and reducing profits". Just because it MAY happen doesn't mean it WILL happen.
Very misleading headline (Score:2)
This is an annual report. They list everything that could affect them in some way. Crypto is barely mentioned, but it is mentioned in three risk contexts, all of which they can address.
Geopolitical regulatory risk: " Emerging technologies, such as cryptocurrencies, could limit our ability to track the movement of funds. Our ability to comply with these laws is dependent on our ability to improve detection and reporting capabilities and reduce variation in control processes and oversight accountability."
Co
Yeah, that's it (Score:2)
Nothing To See Here (Score:2)
This is standard SEC filing text that is required of every business that trades shares. Think of it like a disclaimer. They're supposed to point out anything that could likely affect their share price negatively. /yawn.