Ha! I love the Reddit title: Step 1) Bank of America needs and gets Bailout money, Step 2) BOA buys Merrill Lynch. Step 3)……….. Step 4) Bank of America needs Bailout money.
Banks in Need of Even More Bailout Money
In a sign of deepening fragility among the nation’s largest banks, the government is preparing to throw a new multibillion-dollar lifeline to Bank of America, several people briefed on the talks said Wednesday, the latest effort to stem a tide of growing losses in the financial system.
Bank of America, which was already granted $25 billion in capital from the Treasury’s Troubled Asset Relief Program in October, is seeking billions more to shore up its balance sheet as it struggles with mounting losses at Merrill Lynch, which it recently acquired, said these people, who were not authorized to speak publicly.
Bank of America’s shares fell 4.2 percent, to $10.20, in regular trading Wednesday, and are down nearly 30 percent this year. At one point in after-hours trading, the shares fell to their lowest level since 1991.
The government’s willingness to feed Bank of America a new tranche of taxpayer money comes on the heels of greater federal intervention in Citigroup. After pumping more than $45 billion in Treasury money onto its balance sheet, the government has put pressure on Citigroup to dismantle its troubled empire in an effort to stop losses and curb capital injections. (Source: The New York Times)
I wonder how would the Obama team respond to this.