Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) is denying reports that it will close 600 branches as part of CEO Brian Moynihan’s “Project New BAC”, which will include splitting the company’s banking operations in two, separating consumer from commercial units.

Hot Feature: Bank of America to Shut Down 600 Branches

Anglo Irish Bank expects to sell it $9.5 billion U.S. commercial real estate loan portfolio within the next two weeks, according to CEO Mike Aynsley. Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC), JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM), and Lone Star Funds are reportedly the winners of a recent auction for Anglo Irish’s assets, paying a total of $7 billion to $8 billion.

Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) analyst Matt O’Connor is slashing earning estimates for major banks, including BofA (NYSE:BAC), Citigroup (NYSE:C), Zions Bancorp (NASDAQ:ZION), Regions Financial (NYSE:RF), and Comerica (NYSE:CMA). However, O’Connor raised his ratings on KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) and SunTrust (NYSE:STI) from Hold to Buy.

A U.S. judge has rejected a proposed $62 million settlement between HSBC (NYSE:HBC) and investors in an Irish fund that were victimized by Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. The judge said the judgment is “not fair, reasonable or adequate, even at this preliminary stage.”