Monday, April 27, 2009

Busting Bank Of America (Update 1 -- Includes NY AG Letter)


The Wall Street Journal has an opinion piece out today that takes the U.S. government to task for the way it has handled the financial crisis -- and the way it has handled Bank of America. It's a damning piece that shows Bank of America getting pushed around by the government. The last sentence says this: "The men who nearly ruined Bank of America have some explaining to do."

From the opinion piece:

In the name of containing "systemic risk," our regulators spread it. In order to keep Mr. Lewis quiet, they all but ordered him to deceive his own shareholders. And in the name of restoring financial confidence, they have so mistreated Bank of America that bank executives everywhere have concluded that neither Treasury nor the Federal Reserve can be trusted.

Read the entire piece here.

And read the letter from the New York AG's office that details the Merrill Lynch Merger Investigation.

24 comments:

  1. A.P. Giannini (founder of B of A) is/has been rolling over in his grave.

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  2. About time-my B of A card is on extremely thin ice...

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  3. That BoA, the one founded by Giannini, is pretty much unrelated to this BoA. This one is Nationsbank renamed and has almost nothing to do with the pre-1997 BankAmerica.

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  4. Bank Of America Heiress Blasts Bank Leaders As 'Idiots'

    http://www.creditmattersblog.com/2009/02/bank-of-america-heiress-blasts-bank.html

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  5. Good point, Athens. This really isn't the same bank. But they retained the name so we take our shots nonetheless. :)

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  6. What's this? The Government can't be trusted?! /end sarcasm

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  8. So I just called B of A to close my account. And not ONE argument or request to reconsider.

    They must be hurting-it is scary out there...

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  9. Dont they mean they have "some 'splainin to do?"

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  10. Yes, Athens, I know this is not the same B of A as Giannini's. I used to have a car loan from B of A back in the day. Also, I used to have a checking account with them. They were very good at the time, with sound principles.

    I had switched my checking account since then to Wells Fargo, because Wells Fargo offered better terms. Don't know if there are better terms now with other institutions, but I'm in the driver's seat as far as switching.

    The current incarnation of B of A is ruining the reputation of the old B of A, ever since they left San Francisco.

    Did you say pre-1997? LOL! That is about the time I switched to Wells Fargo. And then B of A left San Francisco! I remember that! I suppose my leaving contributed to B of A's downfall! Who woulda thunk?

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  11. matthew @ April 27, 2009 3:07:00 PM EDT

    Dont they mean they have "some 'splainin to do?"


    That is what Virginia Hammerness (granddaughter of Giannini) would say!

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  12. Prior to Nationsbank it was NCNB. These are the same losers who are at the helm of B of A today.
    ~Don

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  13. The swooped in and stole Barnett Bank in FL and proceeded to ruin it also.
    ~Don

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  14. The two biggest financial people in the government told the CEO of the nations largest bank that he had to buy something (Merrill) and he didn't want to so they forced him to?

    And the CEO just blithely went along, even after he discovered $Billions in previously undiscovered losses?

    And oh how convinient - there is no record anywhere of any of this happening.

    And exactly why is Mr. Lewis is only now saying "They forced me to [buy Merrill], I didn't really want to."?

    You know, something in that story doesn't pass the smell test.

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  15. FLT, a lot of that opinion piece is being sourced from the stuff that came from the NY AG's investigation.

    http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/BofAmergLetter-Cuomo4232009.pdf

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  16. I just read the entire Cuomo letter. Something still doesn't pass the smell test.

    Where are the responses from Messrs. Paulson and Bernanke?

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  17. FLT, that I could not tell you. I did not do the reporting for the WSJ piece. Wish I knew where they were getting that information.

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  18. http://emac.blogs.foxbusiness.com/2009/04/24/does-bofas-story-hold-up/

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  19. Oops - left out "BofA couldn't have invoked the MAC even if they wanted too." - I meant to put that before the link.

    CM - when can we have the ability to edit our own posts?

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  20. FLT, first, thanks for the link to EMAC's Stock Watch.

    As for editing -- that will occur when I move the blog to a different platform (which may never happen).

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  22. Makes you wonder what the CEO of GM wasn't willing to do to save his job. Oh and of course people like Paulson aren't dumb enough to make blunt comments like the ones in this article. Everything would have been said with subtle hints and innuendos to leave complete deniability. It’s the new hip way to be a lying scum bag in an expensive suit.

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  23. Somebody bring back Maryland National Bank.
    ~Don

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  24. I wouldn't get too nostalgic for the old BoA... granted, they started Visa (BankAmericard), but they also nearly went down during the Latin America banking mess in the early 80s - and by
    the time BoA merged / was bought by NationsBank, they were getting hammered by the DE Shaw/Russian bond mess.

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