Can Brian Moynihan fix America’s biggest bank?

It’s hard to think of a company that emerged from the financial crisis more despised than Bank of America. Sure, Goldman Sachs gets pilloried as a symbol of Wall Street greed and excess. But when you count up the various constituencies that have a beef with BofA — homeowners, consumers, investors, regulators — it’s really no contest. The infamous 2008 acquisition of mortgage giant Countrywide saddled America’s biggest bank with the largest, most toxic portfolio of home loans in the business, as well as an ongoing public relations nightmare. Due in large part to its mortgage woes, Bank of America’s stock remains some 80% off its pre-crisis high of $55. In the minds of many, BofA epitomizes the sorry state of the whole damaged U.S. economy. In his first 17 months on the job, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan did little to dispel that image — or to win the confidence of Wall Street.