Bank of America was forced to buy Merril Lynch by the .gov

[BrunoPuntzJones]

http://www.oag.state.ny.us/med...dfs/BofAmergLetter.pdf

From what I can tell:

BoA entered into a merger with ML, with a clause that they can eject

ML posts over $15 billion in losses

BoA uses the clause in the merger wording to terminate the merger

Fed says

According to Lewis, Secretary Paulson then advised Lewis that, if Bank of America invoked the MAC (terminate the merger), its management and Board would be replaced:

So BoA doesn't disclose what was going on with ML, and buys a worthless company.

Lewis testified that the question of disclosure was not up to him and that his decision not to disclose was based on direction from Paulson and Bernanke: "I was instructed that 'We do not want a public disclosure.

Secretary Paulson informed this Office that he did not keep the SEC Chairman in the loop during the discussions and negotiations with Bank of America in December 2008.

So, .gov forcing BoA to make the ML losses not seem so bad? Two public companies and Paulson keeping the SEC out of what was going on?

Something not passing the smell test here. Or have I been sniffing markers again?

 

[Genx87]

Wow simply wow from what I can tell.

 

[TheoPetro]

This is history in the making. I cant wait until 30 years down the road when im watching about this on the history channel and all of the bullshit thats going on has come to light. Im sure there was much more of this shit that has happened.

 

[mugs]

Lulz @ abbreviating government to '.gov'

 

[Robor]

Originally posted by: TheoPetro
This is history in the making. I cant wait until 30 years down the road when im watching about this on the history channel and all of the bullshit thats going on has come to light. Im sure there was much more of this shit that has happened.

True but I sure hope it doesn't take that long.

 

[soulcougher73]

Such a great country we live in :roll:

 

[TheoPetro]

Originally posted by: Robor

Originally posted by: TheoPetro
This is history in the making. I cant wait until 30 years down the road when im watching about this on the history channel and all of the bullshit thats going on has come to light. Im sure there was much more of this shit that has happened.

True but I sure hope it doesn't take that long.

Oh it will, and the facts will be skewed, but it will be interesting none the less. Ignorance is bliss.

 

[GTKeeper]

I can't believe that Bernkanke and Paulson coerced BAC to buy Merill. Makes you wonder how much exposure GS had to Merill if it went BK....

 

[Thump553]

Originally posted by: TheoPetro
This is history in the making. I cant wait until 30 years down the road when im watching about this on the history channel and all of the bullshit thats going on has come to light. Im sure there was much more of this shit that has happened.

I agree. In the last year BoA bought two huge distressed companies-Countrywide Mortgage and Merrill Lynch. Both deals were at the behest of the feds and both deals, in BoA's words at the time, supposedly tremendous bargains. Purportedly BoA was solvent before it made those acquisitions-it certainly doesn't appear so now.

"Forced" acquisitions are certainly nothing new in the financial field-the FDIC does it just about every time a bank fails. But in any type of acquisition the buyer has a period of "due diligence" to study the books of the target before the deal closes. Here, and especially in ML's case, ML was wasting away its assets before the closing-with massive, early bonuses among other things. BoA had to have known about that stuff. In ordinary circumstances, the buyer would have walked.

Sometthing else went on, promises made, etc. that we don't know about yet, of that I am sure.

Incidentally, as I understand it these lawsuits don't claim these deals were illegal, just that BoA had a fiduciary duty to disclose all the adverse facts to its shareholders. From the news stories I seen apparently BoA's President has testified in deposition that Bernanke and Paulson threatened to have him and the Board of Directors fired if they didn't close the deals. Sounds to me like these company officials put their own personal interests over the interests of the company if that is the case.

 

[brandonbull]

Originally posted by: soulcougher73
Such a great country we live in :roll:

It's all about the C-H-A-N-G-E.

B-Rock: "Mission Accomplished"

 

[Fern]

Originally posted by: Genx87
Wow simply wow from what I can tell.

Yes, "WOW" on so many levels I don't know where to begin.

Fern

 

[MegaWorks]

Welcome to cooperate fascist America.

 

[IronWing]

Originally posted by: brandonbull

Originally posted by: soulcougher73
Such a great country we live in :roll:

It's all about the C-H-A-N-G-E.

B-Rock: "Mission Accomplished"

<---- <Checks calendar, comes back >

 

[aphex]

Originally posted by: brandonbull

Originally posted by: soulcougher73
Such a great country we live in :roll:

It's all about the C-H-A-N-G-E.

B-Rock: "Mission Accomplished"

Amazing isn't it? That Obama could be responsible for a merger that took place on September 14, 2008, just shy of two months before the election? It was approved on Dec 5, 2008 and became effective on January 1st, 2009, three weeks before he took office.

 

[GTKeeper]

I used to give the gov't and corporate America the benefit of the doubt. I don't any longer. If you tell me there are no conflicts of interest ALL OVER the place, I don't believe it. AIG's CEO has 3 million in Goldman Shares.

Paulson was CEO of Goldman, and Blankfein the current CEO was in the meeting at AIG with Geitner, Bernanke, and Paulson (WTF was a company CEO doing in that meeting) when AIG was given money to pay off its credit default swaps, that GS got 12 billion dollars of.

Corporate America via our Government is looting the taxpayer on a truly unprecedented level. It is absolutely disgusting.

 

[her209]

I'm glad this happened on Bush's watch. Just goes to show that the Rep's aren't any less "socialist" then they claim the Dem's to be.

 

[Genx87]

Originally posted by: GTKeeper
I can't believe that Bernkanke and Paulson coerced BAC to buy Merill. Makes you wonder how much exposure GS had to Merill if it went BK....

All we are hearing from this is govt directed shit. They instructed them to buy a worthless company. Govt directed banks to take the money even when they didnt need it. Now the govt wont let them give it back.

 

[Hacp]

They should have adopted the good bank/bad bank model. Shoulda had BoFA buy all of Merill's good assets while the bad bank uses the money generated from the sale to pay off as much debt as possible, then fold.

 

[Hacp]

Originally posted by: her209
I'm glad this happened on Bush's watch. Just goes to show that the Rep's aren't any less "socialist" then they claim the Dem's to be.

If I remember correctly, it was the democrats that voted for the bailout package.

 

[sactoking]

Originally posted by: aphex
Amazing isn't it? That Obama could be responsible for a merger that took place on September 14, 2008, just shy of two months before the election? It was approved on Dec 5, 2008 and became effective on January 1st, 2009, three weeks before he took office.

You didn't get the memo? After November, Bush was a lame duck. Obama obviously had all the power, even if he didn't have the official title.

/sarcasm

Seriously, though. I didn't like Paulson and Bernanke when Bush appointed them, I was very disappointed in their performances under Bush, and I was very disappointed that Obama kept them around.

 

[NoStateofMind]

When you are forced to take money you don't need, buy something you don't want or not allowed to repay the money you were forced to take its called Government intervention for the good of the people.

Thats really funny cause, in the 50's, that was considered a loan shark run by the mob and that money you didn't pay back was the controlling interest in your business. The biggest MOB on the planet, The U.S. Government.

 

[Wreckem]

Originally posted by: aphex

Originally posted by: brandonbull

Originally posted by: soulcougher73
Such a great country we live in :roll:

It's all about the C-H-A-N-G-E.

B-Rock: "Mission Accomplished"

Amazing isn't it? That Obama could be responsible for a merger that took place on September 14, 2008, just shy of two months before the election? It was approved on Dec 5, 2008 and became effective on January 1st, 2009, three weeks before he took office.

Yeah and the Obama transition team was for it. All you have to do is look at Obama selecting Geithner.

Geither, Paulson, and Bernarke have no business being in government or in economics/business at this point.

 

[her209]

Originally posted by: Hacp

Originally posted by: her209
I'm glad this happened on Bush's watch. Just goes to show that the Rep's aren't any less "socialist" then they claim the Dem's to be.

If I remember correctly, it was the democrats that voted for the bailout package.

Do you remember correctly when the Merrill Lynch buyout was announced? hint
Do you remember correctly when the TARP was passed? hint

 

[extra]

Wow, what in the world!? And why are people making this thread into an obama vs. bush thing, it's not... lol. This is crazy. I wonder if this story will blow up or of it'll kind of quietly go away?

 

[JEDIYoda]

Originally posted by: brandonbull

Originally posted by: soulcougher73
Such a great country we live in :roll:

It's all about the C-H-A-N-G-E.

B-Rock: "Mission Accomplished"

In your case its all about IGNORANCE....
You realize that you owned yourself....sort of self-pwnage!!

As Aphex stated -- Amazing isn't it? That Obama could be responsible for a merger that took place on September 14, 2008, just shy of two months before the election? It was approved on Dec 5, 2008 and became effective on January 1st, 2009, three weeks before he took office.