This morning, Bank of America agreed to rescue Countrywide Financial from the widening hole that is the credit crisis. The huge Charlotte, N.C. bank says it will operate Countrywide as a separate brand so don't look for those loan origination offices to change nameplates.
The deal also won't affect Bank of America's rank as the sixth-largest in the Philadelphia area by local deposits. Countrywide, which holds a savings and loan charter, doesn't have deposits in the region.
Most shareholders won't come out ahead on this transaction. Certainly those who bought at Countrywide's 52-week high of $45.03 last February and held through the August global credit crisis won't be happy. But something (shares of Bank of America) is better than zero.
Another group not happy about the deal is the Service Employees International Union which calls it "bad for consumers, bad for business, and bad for America." Did they leave anyone out of that?
