Monday's Headlines: Bank of America to slash annual spending by $5 billion

Bank of America plans to cut its annual spending by $5 billion in the next two years, Reuters reports. Most of the reductions will come from the firm's consumer banking and bank systems architecture, CEO Brian Moynihan said, according to Reuters.

"The company built itself through acquisitions over decades and has not properly integrated systems and closed unnecessary branches," Reuters writes. "Bank of America has about 50 senior employees reviewing some 150,000 ideas for cutting costs."

Last week sources told news media the bank expects to cut 40,000 jobs over the next three years as part of "New BAC," a restructuring program aimed at revitalizing the struggling bank. Currently the nation's largest financial institution, Bank of America has 5700 branches and 287,000 employees. Once the restructuring is complete the bank is likely to lose its top ranking, Bloomberg notes.

Other News:

JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon calls proposed global transaction tax "anti-American." [Financial Times]

New UK bank reform seeks to separate business units, may cost up to $11 billion. [Bloomberg]

Moody's likely to cut BNP, Societe Generale and Credit Agricole ratings due to Greek exposure. [Wall Street Journal]

UBS CEO Oswald Gruebel says many banks may need government aid as financial shares drop. [Reuters]

Long-only firms worried about high-frequency trading effects on equity market, survey says. [On Wall Street]

Citigroup analysts see US bank profits down on market woes; cut forecasts 45%. [BusinessWeek]

Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley seek to buy Indonesian brokerage firms. [Reuters]

Banks could boost sales more by pitching wealth-management services to retail clients, study says. [On Wall Street]

Timing of Allianz's push away from PIMCO draws suspicion by industry experts. [Financial Times]

HSBC to sell $1 billion non-life insurance unit as it focuses on core business. [Reuters]