Last week, Bank of America Corp. was one of the banks
taking flack from Congress for not making more loans with its $25 billion in TARP money.
Monday there are reports that BofA is exercising its option to
increase its stake in China Construction Bank Corp. from 10.8% to 19.1%.
It's a bit like the situation at General Motors Corp., which is
upping its stake in a China joint venture even as it lobbies for a taxpayer-funded rescue.
No doubt what's good for Bank of America (and General Motors) is often what's good for America. From a business standpoint, it's hard to fault either company for wanting to do more in China. Still, it seems important to get a lot clearer on exactly how these investments are supposed to work -- both the obligations of the companies that receive them, and the governance mechanisms for making them meet those obligations. Without such clarity, they probably have a lot of congressional hearings in their futures. -
Kenneth Klee
Join Corporate Dealmaker's LinkedIn forum
Juergen Lasowski
And the winners are...
