Bank of America Corp. chief executive Ken Lewis told the Los Angeles Times Thursday that he believes Countrywide Financial Corp.'s misery was overblown and there's certainly value in the company. How much value? Lewis said that his company will immediately show a profit because the Charlotte, N.C.-based bank paid so little for the Pasadena, Calif., lender.
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Furthermore, he told the L.A Times: "Given our view of things, we do not expect to cut the dividend nor do we expect to have to raise capital." Looks like he was speaking while wearing rose-colored glasses.
In this sluggish market, those words seem more braggadocio than realistic. If BofA can do that, it will certainly be an exception compared to many of its peers such as Citigroup Inc., Wachovia Corp. and Washington Mutual Inc., who've all taken to slashing their dividends to raise capital.
For now, investors will take a wait-and-see attitude, but so far BofA's stock has taken a beating, falling 46% year to date, currently trading in the $22 range. - Gerald Magpily
Troubled Wall Street
Closing prices July 10, 2008 |
| Name |
Open |
Last price |
Change |
Mkt cap |
| J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. |
34 |
34.51 |
0.23 |
118253.05 |
| Lehman Brothers Inc. |
19.63 |
17.30 |
-2.44 |
9561.71 |
| Merrill Lynch & Co. |
29.2 |
28.71 |
-1.03 |
28288.88 |
| Goldman Sachs Group Inc. |
167.51 |
170.16 |
1.14 |
67009.83 |
| Morgan Stanley |
33.72 |
33.51 |
-0.48 |
37159.24 |
| Citigroup Inc. |
16.1 |
16.28 |
-0.16 |
85467.29 |
| Fannie Mae |
12.82 |
13.20 |
-2.11 |
12875.37 |
| Freddie Mac |
8.45 |
8.00 |
-2.26 |
5173.78 |
| Bank of America Corp. |
21.62 |
22.37 |
0.31 |
99608.78 |
| Wachovia Corp. |
12.79 |
13.13 |
-1.16 |
28068.68 |
|
Source: The Deal |
See L.A. Times article
See Corporate dealmaker: Eyes on Bank of America deals
See Dealscape: BofA-Countywide merger to eliminate 7,500
