Bank of America and Merrill Lynch merger was a shotgun marriage

[seanm123]

Interesting read on the events of the Bank of America and Merrill Lynch merger.

Click the link below to open the PDF from Attorney general Cuomo to Congress. Shareholder lawsuits will drag on for a decade due to omissions of Merrill Lynch losses to the shareholders.

http://beacheconomist.com/cuomo_bac_merill.pdf

[swgprop]

Re: Bank of America and Merrill Lynch merger was a shotgun marriage

Shareholder lawsuits will drag on for a decade due to omissions of Merrill Lynch losses to the shareholders.

Fascinating stuff, and only the tip of the iceberg I suspect. Government threatens to remove the CEO and board so they buckle to the detriment of the shareholders, so much for fiduciary responsibility.

Would love to see a situation where the CEO stares back at Paulson, et al and simply says "Bring it".

But that would be a show of integrity and we are, after all, talking about banksters here ...

[Chomsky]

Re: Bank of America and Merrill Lynch merger was a shotgun marriage

What an indictment Cuomo's report is.

Paulson not only threatened Lewis not to disclose the Merrill losses to the shareholders, he made sure to keep the SEC, the only agency responsible for protecting shareholders, completely out of the loop.

At the very least Bernanke should be removed from office by Obama immediately, and Paulson and Bernanke should ultimately go to jail.

[GRG55]

Re: Bank of America and Merrill Lynch merger was a shotgun marriage

...Would love to see a situation where the CEO stares back at Paulson, et al and simply says "Bring it"...

On the one hand I read lots of commentary that the US Government is not exercising adequate control over the banks to which it has injected TARP funds and in which it has substantial ownership as a result.

And then I read something like this that suggests that some think management should "stare down" their single largest shareholder. So sorry, but it shouldn't work that way at all. In fact I would criticise the government, and the other BAC shareholders, for NOT replacing the top management and Board, something that is long overdue.

Taking TARP $s is selling your soul to the [public sector] devil...and once that's done there's no going back. The only reason BAC isn't coming under more media scrutiny is because it looks good compared to Citi...:p

[ax]

Re: Bank of America and Merrill Lynch merger was a shotgun marriage

What an indictment Cuomo's report is.

Paulson not only threatened Lewis not to disclose the Merrill losses to the shareholders, he made sure to keep the SEC, the only agency responsible for protecting shareholders, completely out of the loop.

At the very least Bernanke should be removed from office by Obama immediately, and Paulson and Bernanke should ultimately go to jail.

I don't understand why this isn't drawing more outrage. Certainly both men should go to jail. Nice for BAC shareholders.

[Chomsky]

Re: Bank of America and Merrill Lynch merger was a shotgun marriage

I don't understand why this isn't drawing more outrage. Certainly both men should go to jail. Nice for BAC shareholders.

The story just broke this morning. Lewis's testimony was the front-page story of the WSJ. I read it on the subway after I fished a copy out of the trash at Grand Central Station.

There may yet be outrage.

[seanm123]

Re: Bank of America and Merrill Lynch merger was a shotgun marriage

The story just broke this morning. Lewis's testimony was the front-page story of the WSJ. I read it on the subway after I fished a copy out of the trash at Grand Central Station.

There may yet be outrage.

It seems there is a large organized protest being setup on April 28th against BOA, a day before the shareholder meeting on the 29th.

moveon.org being the notable a 501(c) involved.


http://takebacktheeconomy.org/


I wonder if there is going to be a bank run?

[Chomsky]

Re: Bank of America and Merrill Lynch merger was a shotgun marriage

I hope so.

[swgprop]

Re: Bank of America and Merrill Lynch merger was a shotgun marriage

In fact I would criticise the government, and the other BAC shareholders, for NOT replacing the top management and Board, something that is long overdue.

Good point, I stand corrected, forgot about the implication of the significant "investment" in BAC via TARP. Upper management and board replacement should be a prerequisite for TARP funds.

[Chomsky]

Re: Bank of America and Merrill Lynch merger was a shotgun marriage

Good point, I stand corrected, forgot about the implication of the significant "investment" in BAC via TARP. Upper management and board replacement should be a prerequisite for TARP funds.

Indeed they should. What is not egregious is Paulson's threat to oust the board and management; it's that he directed Lewis to illegally hide the Merrill losses from the shareholders, and that he circumvented the SEC in doing so.

[seanm123]

Re: Bank of America and Merrill Lynch merger was a shotgun marriage

Reverend Billy from "The Church of life after Shopping" already did an Exorcism, so if that did not work perhaps a bank run will.

[petertribo]

Re: Bank of America and Merrill Lynch merger was a shotgun marriage

Outrage? Why should there be any outrage? Why we have War Criminals walking the streets and even appearing on TV. Here's one writer who makes the connections between the War Crimes and the Wall Street Crimes, William Greider, who wrote a book about the FED:

But everything Obama does now--or fails to do--becomes an inescapable precedent for the future, defining the true meaning of law and moral principle. The president's rationale on government-led torture sounds dangerously close to the line of defense invoked by Nazi war criminals at Nuremberg. We were only following orders. CIA barbarians are invited to hide behind that excuse.

So in a sense are the bankers from Wall Street. They were merely doing what the financial markets wanted and what the government allowed. Rescuing these players now, while declining to force fundamental structural changes on the banking system, would essentially ratify the bankers' arrogant beliefs. They are too important to fail. The government will never let it happen. Despite their destructive behavior, they will be allowed to remain in power and free to do it all again.

I do not doubt the president's good intentions, but if he is not vigilant, the "Obama precedent" could prove to be an ugly legacy. His name might someday be linked to wilful evasion of misdeeds and the degradation of law and moral principle. When great crimes are committed in the future by government or by powerful private interests, people in authority might decide to let them go by, citing the national interest and recalling how Barack Obama dealt with similar events.

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/04/23-8

At the end of the day, Cuomo is a politician and he senses Political Opportunity as Obumma fails to deal with the Massive Crimes before him. If you do not prosecute Crimes, you aid and abet them.

[Chomsky]

Re: Bank of America and Merrill Lynch merger was a shotgun marriage

Paulson not only threatened Lewis not to disclose the Merrill losses to the shareholders, he made sure to keep the SEC, the only agency responsible for protecting shareholders, completely out of the loop.

Forbes piece on just this issue: "Scandalous"

http://video.forbes.com/fvn/business/bofa-ceo-shocks-shareholders?partner=yahootix

[GRG55]

Thain Fires Back...

Interesting read on the events of the Bank of America and Merrill Lynch merger.

Click the link below to open the PDF from Attorney general Cuomo to Congress. Shareholder lawsuits will drag on for a decade due to omissions of Merrill Lynch losses to the shareholders.

http://beacheconomist.com/cuomo_bac_merill.pdf

Fur flying on Wall Street...

From the WSJ:

Thain Fires Back at Bank of America

APRIL 27, 2009

John Thain figured seven months ago that he was just one rung down the corporate ladder from becoming chief executive of the largest consumer bank in the U.S. Now, he is trying to climb back from the professional disaster that followed.

In an effort to restore his sullied reputation, the 53-year-old Mr. Thain is striking back at Bank of America Corp. He claims the bank lied about its role in the giant bonuses and losses at Merrill Lynch & Co. that cost Mr. Thain his job in January...

...“Getting fired is one thing. But nobody has the right to say things that they know aren’t true,” said Mr. Thain...

[seanm123]

Re: Bank of America and Merrill Lynch merger was a shotgun marriage






Also on his expensive commode and office.

From Jan 26th interview at Davos.

MARIA BARTIROMO: John, I wanna ask you more about the-- the-- environment that we're in. But I've gotta ask you-- first about the office. You spent more than $1 million renovating your office; is this true?


JOHN THAIN: Well, first of all, it-- it is true. This was a year ago or actually a little bit more than a year ago in a very differ-- different-- ec-- economic environment and a very different outlook for Merrill and the financial services industry. It was my office. It was two conference rooms and it was a reception area. But it is clear to me in today's world that it was a mistake. I apologize for spending that money on those-- on those things. And I will make it right. I will reimburse-- the company for all of those costs.




John the taxpayers are still waiting for a check.