An expected sale of the bank's non-U.S. wealth-management operations in Asia, Latin America and Europe would eliminate up to 2,000 jobs, the Journal also said.

Reuters reported on April 17 that Bank of America was looking to sell its wealth management units outside the United States for as much as $3 billion.

Bank of America declined to comment on the Journal report.

Last spring, the bank announced a cost-cutting program called Project New BAC that aims to eliminate 30,000 consumer banking and technology jobs over the next few years.

The bank has said it expects to wrap up plans for the second phase of the program, which focuses on investment banking, commercial banking and related support jobs, in May. The second phase is expected to cut fewer jobs than the first because it covers a smaller, more efficient part of the bank.

At the end of March, Bank of America had about 278,700 employees worldwide.

(Reporting by Sakthi Prasad and Rick Rothacker; Editing by Ryan Woo)

• A Permanent Economic Emergency