NEW YORK, Nov 8: Bank of America Corp, the No. 3 US commercial bank, said on Friday it was reducing its investment banking staff by about 1.5 per cent as part of an ongoing assessment of business unit and employee performance.

The bank plans to eliminate slightly less than 100 jobs in the 6,400-employee unit worldwide, said Tara Burke, a Bank of America spokeswoman. The cuts are across the operation’s business lines and are not targeted to any one particular area, she said.

Bank of America has spent much of the past three years building its investment bank through hiring and internal growth, bolstering many areas, such as its merger and acquisitions practice.

Last month, the Charlotte-based bank struck a $44.7 billion deal to purchase rival retail bank FleetBoston Financial Corp. creating what would be the nation’s largest bank ranked by deposits.

The deal surprised some who thought it might instead pursue a deal to bolster its investment banking operation. But Bank of America Chief Executive Ken Lewis said following that deal he was pleased with progress of his investment banking unit, noting it had been able to remain profitable while growing organically.

Frankly, we like the progress we’ve made, he said at the time. We’re doing it profitably and within our value systems. That’s why I like the organic route.

Indeed, Burke said the job cuts do not reflect any diminished commitment to becoming a top-tier investment bank.

It doesn’t reflect a change in our strategy, she said. We have been strategically building our businesses in targeted areas where we have a competitive advantage and can be a market leader.

This is in response to current business conditions, efficiency and performance management. We continue to align our resources across targets, regions and clients.

Bank of America shares slipped 43 cents to $76.41 in late afternoon trading Friday on the New York Stock Exchange.—Reuters