Subscribe to Dollars & Sense magazine. Recent articles related to the financial crisis. Bank of America Next?Found this Reuters link on LBO Talk:After Citi, is Bank of America next? Mon Nov 24, 2008 6:52pm EST By Elinor Comlay NEW YORK (Reuters) A government rescue plan has eased investors' concerns about Citigroup Inc, but mines lurking in the balance sheets of rivals including Bank of America Corp could still tempt short-sellers. Bank of America, the No. 3 U.S. bank by assets, has loaded up on mortgages as the world's largest economy wrestles with the worst housing market since the Great Depression. The Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank further heightened its exposure to home loans by acquiring Countrywide Financial Corp, the largest U.S. independent mortgage lender and agreeing to buy Merrill Lynch & Co, which owns the world's largest retail brokerage. If losses on mortgages and other debt securities mount significantly, the bank may see the ratio of equity to risk-weighted assets, known as Tier-1 capital, dwindle to alarmingly low levels. Read the rest of the article Labels: bailout, Bank of America, Citibank, Countrywide, financial crisis |
