ft.com - 1/16/2009
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Published: January 15 2009 19:25 | Last updated: January 16 2009 00:34 Forget the culture clash that was expected in Bank of America’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch, which was completed at the start of this month. BofA executives are livid about the true depths of the problems at Merrill, which ...
ft.com - 1/22/2009
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ft.com —
Merrill Lynch took the unusual step of accelerating
bonus payments by a month last year, doling out...
billions of dollars to employees just three days before the closing of its sale to Bank of America . The timing is notable because the money was paid ...
(more)
FT.com / Companies - Merrill delivered bonuses before ...
nakedcapitalism.com - 1/15/2009
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nakedcapitalism.com —
Now we know why John Thain was so
eager to sell Merrill. That comment isn't entirely fair...
(the deterioration in the securities firm took place in the fourth quarter, while the sale was negotiated in September). But directionally, the former Merrill ...
(more)
US Negotiating to Backstop BofA Purchase of Merrill
ft.com - 1/22/2009
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ft.com —
John Thain was ousted from Bank of America
on Thursday, just three weeks after closing the sale...
of Merrill Lynch to BofA, plunging the company into crisis and raising new questions about the government’s efforts to save the banking industry. Mr Thain, ...
(more)
FT.com / Companies / Banks - BofA axes Thain as Merrill ...
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Merrill’s woes anger BofA executives
FT Alphaville —
Forget the culture clash that was expected in Bank of America’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch, which was completed at the start of this month. BofA executives are livid about the true depths of the problems at Merrill, which they feel were glossed over last fall in Merrill’s rush to find a saviour. BofA’s discovery last month of the staggeringly weak condition of Merrill’s balance sheet not only threatened to derail the landmark transaction before it closed, but raised hackles at BofA headquarters in North Carolina, where executives are wondering whether they were sold a pup.
Opening Bell: 01.16.09
Dealbreaker —
... Apparently there's anger abound as BoA exec's feel like they've been duped because Merrill's balance sheet could reasonably be used to wipe one's ass. There's only two real ways this could go: either Bank of America comes out and says that they were caught off guard by the standing of Merrill's balance sheet, in which case you really have to ask whether or not everyone was at least sober during the valuation, or they say they knew. ...
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FT.com / Companies / Banks - BofA bonus deferral anger
ft.com 1/28/2009 — Bank of America is planning to defer bonus payments to some investment banking staff this year – a move certain to inflame tensions between its employees and officials of newly acquired Merrill Lynch, executives familiar with the matter say. Andrew ...
FT.com / Companies / Banks - BofA had role in Merrill bonuses
ft.com 1/26/2009 — Bank of America played a role in Merrill Lynch ’s controversial decision to pay $4bn in bonuses in December just as mounting losses were threatening to derail BofA’s takeover of the Wall Street firm, according to people close to the situation. BofA ...
FT.com / Companies / Banks - BofA chief calls Merrill aid ‘mistake’
ft.com 3/2/2009 — Bank of America ’s request for $20bn of government money to prop up its acquisition of Merrill Lynch was a “tactical mistake” that made the bank appear as weak as Citigroup , Ken Lewis, BofA’s chief executive told the Financial Times on Monday. But Mr ...
FT.com / Companies / Banks - BofA linked to Merrill writedowns
ft.com 3/20/2009 — Bank of America was directly involved in markdowns that contributed to Merrill Lynch ’s $15.3bn loss in the last quarter of 2008, its final reporting period before the Wall Street bank was acquired by BofA, sources familiar with the matter say. ...
Another Bailout for BofA
calculatedriskblog.com 1/15/2009 — Form the WSJ: U.S. Negotiating More Aid for Bank of America The U.S. government is close to committing billions in additional aid to Bank of America Corp. as the nation's largest bank by assets tries to digest its Jan. 1 acquisition of Merrill Lynch ...
Anger in the streets
link.brightcove.com 2/7/2009 — Recent protests and riots are a sign of things to come, as Europeans express outrage at the economic meltdown.
Uncle Sam Kitteh Sez —
The Big Money
Recommended Reading: "Senate releases second part of bailout fund"-- New York Times . OR: "Bank of America gets $20 million in U.S. aid"-- Wall Street Journal . OR: "House Dems push $825 billion recovery plan"-- Politico .
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