Bank of America shares gain for a second straight session on Monday, bank finalizes relocation of its European operations to Dublin

Bank of America Corp announced on Monday that it had finalized the relocation of its banking and markets operations in Europe from London to a new headquarters in Dublin. The bank also said that all regulatory and court approvals required had been received.

Bank of America shares closed higher for a second consecutive trading session in New York on Monday. The stock went up 0.49% ($0.14) to $28.54, after touching an intraday high at $29.03, or a price level not seen since November 8th ($29.12).

Shares of Bank of America Corporation have retreated 3.32% so far in 2018 compared with a 4.37% gain for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2017, Bank of America’s stock surged 33.57%, thus, it outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 19.42% return.

According to a report by Reuters in May, citing a corporate filing, up to 125 jobs are to be moved by Bank of America Corp from the UK mostly to Ireland in preparation for Brexit in March 2019. The job moves are to occur between July and December.

According to the bank’s filing, the moves will affect employees engaged in finance, technology, credit functions, risk and compliance. The moves are to represent a combination of new hires and relocation of personnel, Bank of America explained.

The bank had said that the 125 jobs likely to be relocated were part of a first phase of job moves. The bank also noted that a second phase of moves would depend on the outcome of negotiations between the UK and the European Union. The second phase would include job moves mostly to France and possibly to Germany, Ireland and some other locations.

In 2017, in preparation for Brexit, Bank of America revealed plans to merge its subsidiary, Bank of America Merrill Lynch International, into its Irish entity headquartered in Dublin.

“We are pleased to have worked closely and constructively with our regulators to complete this critical component of our Brexit preparations exactly on schedule and well ahead of the earliest possible date of the UK’s exit from the EU,” Bank of America Merrill Lynch Europe chair Anne Finucane was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Yesterday Bank of America announced that, currently, more than 800 people were employed with it in Dublin.

According to CNN Money, the 28 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Bank of America’s stock price, have a median target of $34.50, with a high estimate of $40.00 and a low estimate of $28.50. The median estimate represents a 20.88% upside compared to the closing price of $28.54 on December 3rd.

The same media also reported that 16 out of 30 surveyed investment analysts had rated Bank of America’s stock as “Buy”, while 9 – as “Hold”.

Weekly Pivot Levels

By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for Bank of America Corporation (BAC) are presented as follows:

Central Pivot Point – $28.04
R1 – $28.99
R2 – $29.57
R3 – $30.52
R4 – $31.46

S1 – $27.46
S2 – $26.51
S3 – $25.93
S4 – $25.34