Media Groups Spar Over Brokerage Sale Story

The possibility that Bank of America could sell its prime brokerage unit to hedge fund giant Citadel Investment Group has stirred a flurry of speculation and conflicting news reports.

Citing unnamed sources, the New York Post reported Thursday that the bank is in discussions with Citadel and added that Citadel recently inspected BoA's books.

Reuters News responded with its own unnamed source, stating, "There have been no conversations about it and Citadel has not looked at the books."

Spokesmen for BoA and Citadel declined to comment on the sale to both media groups, leaving the accuracy of the news up in the air.

Last October, BoA Chief Executive Ken Lewis said the bank would be scaling back operations amid sharp earnings declines and mounting mortgage-related write-downs.

Citadel recently injected $2.5 billion into the online brokerage firm E*Trade, expanding its business.

No official statement had been made by either BoA or Citadel as of press time.