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BankBoston exits markets
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October 14, 1998: 11:45 a.m. ET
Bank cuts emerging market staff, closes offices in Japan, Taiwan and India
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - BankBoston, the nation's oldest commercial bank, said Wednesday it will pare down its emerging-markets staff and shut offices in four troubled markets.
BankBoston said it will close offices in India, Japan, the Philippines and Taiwan in a bid to reduce risk and refocus its resources on Latin America and other parts of Asia.
In Asia, the bank will remain headquartered in Singapore, but have branches in Hong Kong and Korea and representative offices in China and Indonesia.
About 100 jobs will be eliminated as a result of the restructuring.
"This realignment of our [Emerging Markets Sales, Trading & Research Group] allows us to substantially reduce the level of risk and capital associated with the emerging-markets trading business," said bank President and Chief Operating Officer Henrique Meirelles.
"However, we are still strongly committed to issuers and investors and will be concentrating in areas where we have local presence, competitive advantage, and the greatest opportunities for long-term growth," he added.
BankBoston has assets of $70.5 billion and 23,000 employees.
"We have always recognized opportunity in times of market downturn," Meirelles said. "Therefore, we are aligning our business both to apply our expertise in corporate finance, foreign exchange, and fixed-income instruments, on behalf of our Asia customers who need to restructure their existing debt and manage their foreign exchange risks, and to take advantage of our strong links to Latin American markets."
Shares of BankBoston (BKB) dipped 5/16 to 31-3/4 Wednesday afternoon following the announcement on the New York Stock Exchange. 
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BankBoston
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