The ‘Giving It Back’ Strategy

In the world of PR, sometimes the talk is more meaningful than the walk.

That’s essentially what Ken Lewis is hoping as he swings through California, selling Bank of America to local media and employees (and not necessarily in that order).

Lewis told the Los Angeles Times yesterday that Bank of America “wants” to start repaying the $45 billion it has received in TARP funds next month. “As soon as we think the markets normalize, we would very seriously like to pay it all back,” he told the LA Times, adding that that could happen as early as the fourth quarter of this year.

Really? BAC has nearly $31 billion of toxic assets on its books that are marked on average to 60.8% of its value. Are those marks going to hold? I would venture to say no, which means the capital cushion Bank of America currently has in place will erode further. And you think the federal government is going to allow a bank with more than $1 trillion of loans outstanding on its books to undermine its balance sheet further? Any interest in buying a bridge to Brooklyn?

No, what Lewis is doing is talking the talk. Say you are going to pay back the TARP and investors wonder, “What does he know about Bank of America’s financial future that I don’t?” When the federal government prohibits the banking from repaying its TARP funds, Lewis can blame the government. Brilliant — if you like bulls***.

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