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BofA paying us back...announces dividend

Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 3:56 pm
by radbag
several things.

1 - Ken Lewis is signaling to the market that he's in good shape (good enough to make a payment back to us)
2 - Ken Lewis is forcing others to do the same...if you don't (or can't), you're signaling to the market that you are NOT in good shape
3 - Ken Lewis is effectively telling the gov't to go fuck off
4 - Ken Lewis is attempting to disarm those of us who hold the banking industry wholly responsible for this current malaise.



http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=conewsstory&refer=conews&tkr=BAC%3AUS&sid=aHzbI7Odw.dc
Bank of America Makes $402 Million TARP Dividend Payment to U.S.
Bank of America Makes $402 Million TARP Dividend Payment to U.S. Government

2009 Dividends to Government Will Total Approximately $2.8 Billion

PR Newswire

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Feb. 17

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Feb. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Bank of America Corporation today
announced that it made its first dividend payment to the U.S. government
under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050720/CLW086LOGO-b )

The payment, totaling $402 million, reflects Bank of America's ongoing
commitment to paying back U.S. taxpayers. Today's payment represents the
dividend on the Fixed-Rate Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock issued in
connection with the $45 billion in government investments that Bank of
America received in late 2008 and early 2009.

Approximately $223 million relates to the federal government's $15 billion
investment in Bank of America made under the Capital Purchase Program of
the Troubled Asset Relief legislation and an additional $50 million
relates to the federal government's $10 billion investment in Bank of
America as part of the agreement to acquire Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. The
remaining $129 million stems from the government's $20 billion investment
on January 16 to help facilitate the acquisition of Merrill Lynch. Total
cash dividend payments to the government in 2009 will reach approximately
$2.8 billion.

"It is our intention to pay back these loans, as soon as possible," said
Bank of America Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ken Lewis. "In the
meantime, we are using these funds to support the U.S. economy by
extending credit to individuals and businesses."

Bank of America extended more than $115 billion in new credit during the
fourth quarter of 2008, of which about $49 billion was in commercial
non-real estate; $45 billion was in mortgages; nearly $8 billion was in
domestic card and unsecured consumer loans; nearly $7 billion was in
commercial real estate; more than $5 billion was in home equity products;
and approximately $2 billion was in consumer Dealer Financial Services.

Bank of America also committed to assisting as many as 630,000 customers
to help them stay in their homes, representing more than $100 billion in
mortgage financing. In 2008, the company modified approximately 230,000
home loans - representing more than $44 billion in mortgage financing.
Bank of America also modified nearly 700,000 credit card loans for
borrowers experiencing financial hardship last year.

Bank of America

Bank of America is one of the world's largest financial institutions,
serving individual consumers, small and middle market businesses and large
corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and
other financial and risk-management products and services. The company
provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving more than 59
million consumer and small business relationships with more than 6,100
retail banking offices, nearly 18,700 ATMs and award-winning online
banking with nearly 29 million active users. Following the acquisition of
Merrill Lynch on January 1, 2009, Bank of America is among the world's
leading wealth management companies and is a global leader in corporate
and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes
serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the
world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to more than 4
million small business owners through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use
online products and services. The company serves clients in more than 150
countries. Bank of America Corporation stock is a component of the Dow
Jones Industrial Average and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

www.bankofamerica.com

SOURCE Bank of America

BofA paying us back...announces dividend

Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 5:11 pm
by a1bion
Chump change. Pay off the entire loan, Kenny, if you want to show us how awesome you are.

BofA paying us back...announces dividend

Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 6:54 pm
by radbag
they're obligated to do so by 2012 and by all accounts, are anticipating being able to have everything be paid off by before then.

BofA paying us back...announces dividend

Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2009 11:05 am
by a1bion
That's the other thing about bankers--they always wanting to get credit for doing things they're supposed to be doing. Bank of America is all like, "Oh, I paid my scheduled dividend!" Banka, that's what you SUPPOSED to do!!! What you want? A cookie?!?!?

BofA paying us back...announces dividend

Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2009 11:16 am
by G8rMom7
^^^Well it's more than what the other beneficiaries of TARP are doing. And as individuals when you pay your bills on time you get better credit scores and have access to more credit...so yeah, I think they DO deserve a cookie for doing what they were supposed to do on time.

BofA paying us back...announces dividend

Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2009 11:30 am
by DocZaius
Maybe BoA is trying to build some public confidence, indicating they're healthy enough to survive this mess.

BofA paying us back...announces dividend

Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2009 11:39 am
by a1bion
Hell, last year we gave the BoA nearly twice what their current market capitalization is. They SHOULD be able to survive if we gave them that kind of government cheddar.

BofA paying us back...announces dividend

Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2009 12:30 pm
by radbag
josh - if you were a CEO and you were able to make a dividend payment during this financial crisis, wouldn't YOU be chirping and beating your chest about it? i know you would. fact is, no matter how small, doing it and mass advertising it is, as doc put it, is needed to help the public confidence...nevermind the fact that they are signaling to the market that their being managed properly by being able to provide this...at least BofA is doing their part...no matter what the motivation.

BofA paying us back...announces dividend

Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2009 12:35 pm
by a1bion
I wouldn't have bought Countrywide or Merrill if I were the CEO, so long as we're playing hypotheticals here. I wouldn't have put myself in the position where I needed the government to bail me out. And if I had put my company in that position, I would've resigned by now to show that I recognized that I fucked up.

Of course, I don't live in a low expectation type world, so there's that...

BofA paying us back...announces dividend

Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2009 1:21 pm
by radbag
i don't believe that.

BofA paying us back...announces dividend

Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2009 1:44 pm
by a1bion
Hey, did you see where even Alan Greenspan is now saying that it's time to preprivatize the Zombie Banks like BoA and Citi?

Zombie Banks want brains!!!!!

BofA paying us back...announces dividend

Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2009 2:09 pm
by annarborgator
The need to be preprivatized as part of a bankruptcy proceeding...let a damn judge figure it out, he can sell off the worthwhile assets to some of the larger more stable regional banks (there are plenty sitting on tons of cash waiting on the gov't to stop crowding them out of the market) and let the shit be flushed down the sewers.

It's really pretty simple...the big boys are insolvent and we don't have the cash to make them solvent...so we might as well move them through the bankruptcy process with a little public backing and just rip the fucking bandaid off so we can clean and dress the wound.

BofA paying us back...announces dividend

Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2009 2:12 pm
by radbag
greenspan is just trying to be relevant....trying to justify the large sums of money he's commanding at speaking engagements...in his NEW line of work, being a contrarian is in his best interest.

BofA paying us back...announces dividend

Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2009 11:57 am
by a1bion
The market appears to be betting on preprivatization for BoA and Citi today it would seem.