Bank of America is not the only financial firm facing layoffs. Wall Streets job losses at firms like Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse and Barclays could hit six figures this year.

While Bank of American says it plans 6,000 layoffs by the end of the third quarter, Credit Suisse says it will cut 2,000 jobs this year and Barclays will shed 3,000 jobs, according to CNNMoney.

At some companies, Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse and other financial firms are telling some employees they will be laid off by Oct. 1, according to CNNMoney. The advance warning can help employees since finding a new job is easier if they have a job. Banks can also decrease expenses and the number of layoffs they report if employees leave voluntarily.

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"Department heads are literally looking at their numbers every day and trying to figure out whether they can keep a body or a body will go," an unnamed source at a large investment bank told CNNMoney.

Retail departments will see many of the cuts, but traditionally safe areas like equity trading will also see some jobs go.

Exceptionally low interest rates are squeezing bank margins by making it difficult for them to make much money from holding deposits and lending, CNNMoney notes.

Plus, new regulations created after the 2008 financial crisis limit banks' ability to use their own funds to make large bets on investments. In response, Banks have had to shut down or spin off their once-lucrative trading desks.

The Wall Street Journal, noting that Bank of America plans to eliminate 30,000 jobs by 2014, blames new federal regulations for the layoffs.

The Dodd-Frank Act is supposed to prevent another financial collapse, but many of its provisions restrict bank earnings, forcing them to reduce their operations, the Journal argues in an editorial.

For instance, the act forced banks to slash the fees they charge merchants when customers use debit cards.