Bank of America Says It Won't Need Any More Government Welfare
Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 1:45 pm
I'll believe it when I see it, but let me just say that you could've paid me a mere half a million dollars and I could have told you that buying subprime lender Countrywide was a bad idea. I could have also told you that following that up by buying Merrill (especially after Merrill had bought subprime lender Silverado) was an even worse idea.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aDnsz5u0g5c4&refer=homeFeb. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Bank of America Corp. Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Lewis said the lender won’t be nationalized and doesn’t need more capital support from the government.
The idea of nationalizing the bank wasn’t even a “remote possibility,” Lewis said in an interview today on CNBC television. He said “categorically” that the company won’t go back a third time for U.S. aid and that he “has the leeway” to manage the bank independently of the U.S.
Bank of America has slumped about 58 percent this year, with the descent gaining momentum this week on speculation that the U.S. government might seize the company. The U.S. already agreed to inject $45 billion into the company and protect the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank from losses on $118 billion of loans and securities after it bought Merrill Lynch & Co.
Investors have pressed the board to replace Lewis, the CEO since 2001, after his acquisitions of Countrywide Financial Corp. and Merrill Lynch, with some saying he agreed to pay too much. Lewis said it’s possible to “make a case” that a company overpaid for any acquisition done in the past 18 months.