Warren Buffett said Berkshire Hathaway (BRKB) would hold Bank of America (BAC) stock for a “long, long, long time,” citing CEO Brian Moynihan’s attempts to turn the bank around.
“Bank of America’s done a sensational job under Brian Moynihan,” Berkshire CEO Buffett told CNBC. “Brian had all kinds of problems when he came in. I mean, they were not of his own doing, but he had a ton of problems. And he had a lot of rocks to turn over, and it cost a lot of money, and he just set out, step by step, to bring the bank back.” Buffett added that Moynihan had also made moves to cut expenses.
Berkshire in August exercised warrants to acquire 700 million shares of BofA, making it the bank’s biggest shareholder. The investment vehicle owns 6.6% of BofA, according to Reuters.
Buffett also has stakes in such banks as Goldman Sachs (GS), Wells Fargo (WFC), Bank of New York Mellon (BK) and others.
Bank of America closed 0.9% higher at 25.86 on the stock market today. The stock is still within buy range of a cup base with a 24.45 buy point. Goldman edged up 0.4%, Wells Fargo reversed higher to finish up 0.2%, and Bank of New York Mellon advanced 0.3%.
