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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2009
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Feds Put 'Gun to Head' of BofA's Lewis on Merger

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(Newser) – Ben Bernanke and Henry Paulson may have leaned on Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis too heavily last year when he tried to back out of a deal to acquire Merrill Lynch, say congressional investigators. In fact, a GOP briefing document says the two Bush officals "put a gun to the head" of Lewis "in order to force through a merger, even though (Lewis) felt it was his duty to his shareholders to try his luck in the legal system and back out of the deal,” Politico reports. Lewis appears before a House panel today.

The BofA CEO wanted to scrap the acquisition when the true picture of Merrill's dire financial straits emerged, but former Fed chief Bernanke and former Treasury chief Paulson wouldn't have it. Bernanke dismissed the threat as a "bargaining chip" in an email, one of several that have been subpoenaed from the Fed as part of the congressional investigation.

Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis in February.
Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis in February.   (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, file)
Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis in 2008.
Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis in 2008.   (AP Photos/Bebeto Matthews, file)
Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke.
Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke.   (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.   (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
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5 comments
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Chudluv
Jun 10, 09 11:36 PM CDT
Ohh so which side is going to blame the other side for this mess. Righty vs Lefty... Reply
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drlarrymitchell
Jun 11, 09 12:10 AM CDT
Rational people blame greedy, short-sighted assholes for this.
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+3
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komodo_d
Jun 11, 09 5:16 AM CDT
Clearly, it is the right who gets all the blame for this whole entire mess. All this happen before Obama took office.
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+2
northeast
Jun 11, 09 12:52 AM CDT
Wow, Newser's a little slow...this has been out for almost a month lol Reply
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Reader2795
Jun 11, 09 11:36 AM CDT
I wonder how it felt for Mr. Lewis, he in the past has put a number of guns and even pulled triggers on a bunch of folks, internally and externally in his global dealings. Now he cries foul, what a leader! As much as despised his predecessor, at least he would have taken a bullet rather than be bullied. Reply
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