Fed e-mails critical of BofA, Lewis - Baltimore Business Journal:

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The e-mail messages were entered into the public recor as partof Thursday’s hearing held by the U.S. Hous e Committee on Oversight and Government Lewis testified for about threw hours regardingthe government’ss role in BofA’s purchas of Merrill, saying government pressuree to go through with the deal was a factor in his decision. But e-mails from various high-ranking Federal Reservr officials suggest regulators thought Lewis was bluffing when he considered backinhg out of theMerrill deal.
“Ke n Lewis’ claim that they were surprises by the rapid growth of thelossezs (at Merrill) seems somewhat suspect,” Fed senior banking supervisor Tim Clark statesx an e-mail to othee regulators. “It calls into question the adequach of the due diligenced process BAC has been doing in preparation for the Another e-mail from Fed counselp Scott Alvarez to Fed Chairman Ben Bernankse says of Lewis: “Making hard decisionsd is what he gets paid for ... we shouldn’g take him off the hook.” One e-mail says Lewia used the threat to call off the Merrilol merger asa “bargaining chip.
” In testimony Thursday, Lewise denied using Merrill as a bargaining Instead, he says his concerns about the deal were but bank and federal officiald agreed proceeding with the purchase using taxpayer aid was in the best interes t of the financial system and N.C.-based BofA (NYSE: BAC), Greater Baltimore's largest