Bank of America was struggling too and that put Merrill Lynch in jeopardy. As the takeover proceeded, the full scale of Merrill’s mortgage losses was becoming apparent and CEO Ken Lewis and his team at Bank of America were desperate to pull out of the deal that had saved the investment bank on September 14. No one wanted to go back to Lehman weekend. Under heavy pressure from Paulson and Bernanke, Lewis pressed on with the deal, withholding crucial information from Bank of America’s shareholders, but taking another $20 billion in government capital and a “loss-protection arrangement” on $118
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