May 2 (Bloomberg) -- Bank of America Corp. , the second- biggest U.S. bank, said it may not guarantee $38.1 billion of Countrywide Financial Corp. 's debt after taking over the mortgage lender, increasing the likelihood of a default.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N), said on Wednesday quarterly profit fell 50 percent, but the third-largest U.S. bank was able to skirt the massive losses that have crippled many rivals, and its shares rose as much as 5 percent.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. Bancorp (USB.N), the sixth-largest U.S. bank, said on Tuesday first-quarter profit fell 4 percent, but results topped forecasts as increases in credit card and mortgage banking revenue helped offset weaker credit quality tied to the housing crisis.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc (C.N) is cutting about 2,000 more investment banking and trading jobs, a person briefed on the matter said, as the largest U.S. bank moves to lower costs after subprime mortgage and credit problems led to a record quarterly loss.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Citigroup said on Tuesday it would merge its brokerage and investment banking units in Japan, as the faltering U.S. bank looks to bulk up in the world's second-largest economy, despite cutbacks elsewhere.

DUBAI/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc (C.N) shares sank to their lowest level in more than nine years on Tuesday after a prominent Middle East investor said the largest U.S. bank needs to raise more capital and an analyst projected a $15 billion mortgage write-down.

U.S. bank and thrift earnings dropped to the lowest level since 1991 in the fourth quarter, hurt by trading losses and increased reserves for bad loans, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wachovia Corp (WB.N), the fourth-largest U.S. bank, is fighting a lawsuit accusing it of letting fraudulent telemarketers use its accounts to bilk millions of dollars from consumers, court papers show.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc (C.N) awarded Chief Executive Vikram Pandit $26.7 million of shares and 3 million stock options, six weeks after he took over the largest U.S. bank, and a week after reporting a record $9.83 billion quarterly loss.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) said on Wednesday quarterly profit fell a worse-than-expected 24 percent as the No. 3 U.S. bank lost $1.3 billion on risky mortgages and set aside more money for rising losses on home-equity loans.