This meant BofA paid full market price for the company instead of letting it go into bankruptcy and getting it for far less money. His reasoning for that was they preferred to buy it straight out and not have to deal with the government calling the shots in bankruptcy court. Little did he know.

As a former BofA marketing employee in the 80’s, I was very pleased to be privy to that interesting piece of information.

Not six weeks later, BofA was reeling from their stock going to next to nothing, going to the government for MORE bailout money, and Lewis’ job was on the line. The explanation was Merrill Lynch was in much worse shape than originally thought. ML probably participated in the sub-prime mess plus giving their execs those much begrudged bonuses.

It sounds a lot like what happened to Wachovia which found itself in the first wave of failed banks due to a similar company they bought at the height of the market in 2006. That company had nothing BUT sub-prime mortgages that caused the Wachovia failure.

But, I’m thinking Cuomo might prefer to follow in his Dad’s footsteps to the Governor’s mansion.

–$25B, in fall 2008

–$20B, 1-16-2009

–$5.2B channeled through AIG,(and what’s with that route?), 3-15-09

for a total of $50.2B.

http://market-ticker.denninger.net/archives/982-Paulson-and-Bernanke-Indictment-Time.html

Ken Lewis has to stand before his shareholders, of which I am one. Many are calling for his resignation, of which I am not doing with the information I have at present.

In December, Lewis did consult with his legal counsel to determine whether BofA could be released from the Merrill merger via a MAC, material adverse clause, when information about Merrill’s massive 4th quarter losses ($21.5B) were recorded. The US government forced him to allow the merger to be completed.

I’ve long stated that from the outset Henry Paulson was too anxious to get an ok on the TARP deal, and his and Bernanke’s actions of “the sky is falling” plea to congress was suspect. I wouldn’t trust either of these men to take out my garbage, much less to put them in charge of so much money and the future of my children and grandchildren.

Ken Lewis’ wail of “he made me do it” gets no sympathy from me. He has proven he has no backbone, and he and the whole board of directors of BofA should be terminated immediately. The fear of losing their jobs meant more to them than the integrity of their decision.

Henry Paulson and Ben Bernanke both belong in jail. Together they have put the United States of America in the worst place than she has been in for ages. This does not absolve George Bush for being so stupid for buying their act. (Or was he in on it?)

I don’t foresee congress taking any action against anyone who is culpable of wrong doing in this matter, because they are all tied up in dirty deals themselves. The fact that fraud was perpetrated against the shareholders doesn’t seem to count for very much.

Could there be any connection here for the reason Obama is so loudly proclaiming that he will give Chris Dodd all the help he needs in his re-election bid? The fact that he stated that Dodd is going through a “bad patch” doesn’t strike me as reason enough. Obama never goes out on a limb for anyone unless there is something in it for him.

In forming judgments on this matter, we should read all pertinent accounts.

Your point is well taken, arran. I, for one, am often prone to leap to conclusions, and I know I shouldn’t. When you’re always angry, it’s hard to do the necessary research before venting.

After his investigation, Andrew Cuomo wrote a letter dated today to Chris Dodd, Barney Frank, Mary Schapiro (SEC), and Elizabeth Warren (Congressional Oversight Panel).

In the Charlotte Observer (online) today is the post, “Federal officials threatened BofA CEO’s job security”, and under that headline is a link to Andrew Cuomo’s letter. In forming judgments on this matter, we should read all pertinent accounts.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/

“Federal officials threatened BofA CEO’s job security”

“Read documents on BofA-Merrill merger (pdf)

In that context I read this question:

Is Ken Lewis a “great American” serving the interests of his country, or a mere pawn . . .

Presumably this shrewd character is a bit more slick than poor oxlike Mongo . . . A pawn? LMAO! On the other hand, my cynical nature will not let me believe that national interest was his motivation . . . So the “either-or” question doesn’t work for me. Now if there were another “or” option–”or acting out of self interest in a way that is not immediately clear,” now I would want to check that choice.