That Ridiculous Bank of America "Blunder" and Some Good Job Opportunities
Bank of America committed what's being characterized as a blunder in its submission of data to the Fed, data which was going to justify raising its dividend. The Fed put the kibosh on that when it discovered that the bank's capital was less than advertised.
Two things jump out at you when you consider this story. First, is it likely that this gigantic bank, with all its resources, could make such an error in calculating its capital? In case your tempted to dismiss this based on the idea that people do make mistakes from time to time, remember that we're not talking about some guy with a calculator or spreadsheet juggling numbers here. B of A has professional staff to handle this, and - unless they're completely incompetent - they must have a process that includes checking of their figures as they prepare important reports. And a submission to the Fed, their chief regulator, would seem to be among their most important, don't you think? But even if you're still willing to cut them some slack and believe that this "error" somehow slipped through the cracks of even their fully staffed number-crunching department, consider this:
Of course, we don't know that they consciously did this, but here's something we do know. Consider the following:
Yep, while all we hear about is how "tech" is the new booming area, I suggest you look at "compliance" and "security." You don't hear much about these areas, but they are growing, even booming. They don't have the glamor of "tech" perhaps, and you might not strike it rich as you could working for a tech start-up that strikes gold, but for those of you who simply want to find reasonably steady employment, I think they may provide a good outlet for your job hunting efforts.
Two things jump out at you when you consider this story. First, is it likely that this gigantic bank, with all its resources, could make such an error in calculating its capital? In case your tempted to dismiss this based on the idea that people do make mistakes from time to time, remember that we're not talking about some guy with a calculator or spreadsheet juggling numbers here. B of A has professional staff to handle this, and - unless they're completely incompetent - they must have a process that includes checking of their figures as they prepare important reports. And a submission to the Fed, their chief regulator, would seem to be among their most important, don't you think? But even if you're still willing to cut them some slack and believe that this "error" somehow slipped through the cracks of even their fully staffed number-crunching department, consider this:
The bank had been making the same calculation error since 2009, according to a person close to the bank.Is that incredible - which means difficult or impossible to believe - or what? B of A hasn't been able to accurately calculate the correct level of its capital for the last five years?!! Something's not right here, especially when you consider that 2009 was the nadir of the financial collapse, the year that stock prices bottomed after crashing in late 2008, the year that people were wondering - even as "bail-outs" were being offered by the federal government, whether Bank of America, Citibank, and other banks were teetering on the edge of collapse. It sure would have been tempting for B of A to put out numbers that exaggerated its capital, wouldn't it?
Of course, we don't know that they consciously did this, but here's something we do know. Consider the following:
The blunder shows the difficulties executives and regulators face in overseeing financial firms that have become more complex and more sprawling since a wave of forced mergers during the financial crisis.The key phrase here is "huge apparatus" of compliance employees. It's key because, as I've been telling young people seeking jobs in a market that's tight unless you've got superior tech skills or want to earn minimum wage, check out the compliance industry. It's booming. B of A isn't the only bank, or financial firm, that's bulking up their compliance departments. It's a seriously growing area of opportunity for job-seekers, the other one being the security industry.
Despite numerous federal regulators in its offices, and a huge apparatus of compliance employees and risk controls, neither Bank of America nor its overseers caught the mistake until last week.
Yep, while all we hear about is how "tech" is the new booming area, I suggest you look at "compliance" and "security." You don't hear much about these areas, but they are growing, even booming. They don't have the glamor of "tech" perhaps, and you might not strike it rich as you could working for a tech start-up that strikes gold, but for those of you who simply want to find reasonably steady employment, I think they may provide a good outlet for your job hunting efforts.
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