More evidence of behind-the-scenes string-pulling in the banking crisis:

NEW YORK (Reuters) –

Bank of America Corp CEO Kenneth Lewis testified under oath that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson pressured him to keep quiet about losses at Merrill Lynch & Co, which the bank was buying, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Testifying before New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo in February, Lewis said “it wasn’t up to me” to reveal Merrill’s fourth-quarter losses as they were becoming apparent in December, the newspaper said, citing a deposition transcript.

Shareholders of Merrill and Bank of America voted to approve the merger on December 5, and the transaction closed on January 1. Bank of America subsequently reported that Merrill lost $15.84 billion in the fourth quarter.

At Bank of America’s April 29 annual meeting, shareholders will vote on whether to force Lewis to step down as chairman of the largest U.S. bank or leave its board, because of Merrill and a falling share price…”

Read more at Reuters

My Comment

Why do people think nationalization will improve matters?

We’ve nationalized already…. unofficially.

Making it official won’t improve anything. It will just get people to accept what’s going on and legitimize the swindle.

We’re like bystanders at a mugging fighting over who ought to get the money the mugger left behind when he fled.

No. See mugging, call cops.

That’s how it’s supposed to go.