Bank of America is buying Countrywide. I guess we should have seen this coming considering how Bank of America had been posting “bail” for Countrywide for quite a few months. From MarketWatch:
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Bank of America Corp. said Friday it’s purchasing Countrywide Financial Corp. for $4 billion, effectively doubling down on a previous investment in the troubled firm and catapulting the buyer into the top spot among mortgage lenders and loan servicers in the U.S.
The stock-swap deal will put an end to the independence of the troubled California lender headed by Angelo Mozilo, and represents an increase from the Charlotte, N.C., bank’s August investment of about $2 billion.
There were rumors earlier this week that Countrywide was running out of cash.