Quote:New York's attorney general said today government officials pressured Bank of America Corp.'s CEO Ken Lewis to complete the bank's purchase of Merrill Lynch and threatened his job security.

Our government is pro Capitalism this can not be true!

Federal officials threatened BofA CEO's job security

Quote:On Sunday, December 14,2008, Bank of America's CFO advised Ken Lewis, Bank of America's CEO, that Merrill Lynch's financial condition had seriously deteriorated at an alarming rate. Indeed, Lewis was advised that Merrill Lynch had lost several billion dollars since December 8, 2008. In six days, Merrill Lynch's projected fourth quarter losses skyrocketed from $9 billion to $12 billion, and fourth quarter losses ultimately exceeded $15 billion.
Immediately after learning on December 14,2008 of what Lewis described as the "staggering amount of deterioration" at Merrill Lynch, Lewis conferred with counsel to determine if Bank of America had grounds to rescind the merger agreement by using a clause that allowed Bank of America to exit the deal if a material adverse event ("MAC") occurred. After a series of internal consultations and consultations with counsel, on December 17,2008, Lewis informed then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson that Bank of America was seriously considering invoking the MAC clause. Paulson asked Lewis to come to Washington that evening to discuss the matter.

Can you say SHOTGUN wedding?

Quote:Bank of America's attempt to exit the merger came to a halt on December 21, 2008. That day, Lewis informed Secretary Paulson that Bank of America still wanted to exit the merger agreement. According to Lewis, Secretary Paulson then advised Lewis that, if Bank of America invoked the MAC, its management and Board would be replaced

So much for FREE market!!!

STATE OF NEW YORK OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

It's a shame. If our government worked as it was supposed to, we wouldn't be having conversations like this.