From Realtor Magazine Online, Daily Real Estate News January 11, 2008
Bank of America Corp. announced today that it has agreed to buy Countrywide Financial for $4 billion in stock.
The purchase will make Bank of America the nation’s largest mortgage lender and loan servicer.
"Countrywide presents a rare opportunity for Bank of America to add what we believe is the best domestic mortgage platform at an attractive price and to affirm our position as the nation's premier lender to consumers," Bank of America Chief Executive Ken Lewis said in a statement.
The sale will place the responsibility of sorting out the payment issues surrounding millions of dollars worth of troubled loans on Bank of America.
"There's still plenty of risk involved," says Bart Narter, senior analyst at Celent, a Boston-based financial research and consulting firm. "[Lewis] is brave to do it. But I think that it's very likely down the road to be profitable, maybe not immediately, but long-term.
"The agreement has been approved by both companies' boards and is subject to regulatory and Countrywide's shareholders approval.
Source: The Associated Press, Ieva M. Augstums (01/11/08)
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