You'd think that if anyone knows how to perform due diligence on a portfolio of bank loans, it would be the folks at the acquisition machine known as Bank of America Corp. How many deals did it take for this Charlotte. N.C., bank to become the giant it is today? Must be more than 60 at this point. It's probably no coincidence that the current CFO, Joe L. Price, previously worked in corporate development at BofA.
But even though it bought in good times and bad, neither BofA nor anyone else in banking has bought in times quite like these. That's why observers (like The Economist) are still
holding their breath to see whether the Countrywide Financial Corp. acquisition, which
closed earlier this week, will be the success that BofA CEO Ken Lewis still thinks it will be, or something else.
And it's why some eyes are trained on BofA's
integration of Chicago's LaSalle Bank, which it brought on board last year and which now is being hard-hit by construction loan delinquencies in Michigan, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Acquiring in a tough market can pay big rewards, especially if you're buying financial assets. But the risks are very real too -- especially if you're buying financial assets. -
Kenneth Klee
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