BofA exceeds $33.9 billion buffer ordered by government

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp (BAC.N), which has received $45 billion of bailout money, on Thursday said it has built more than the $33.9 billion capital cushion demanded by federal regulators.

The bank said it exceeded the buffer by conducting an exchange offer under which it expects to issue 200 million shares.

In total, it has completed exchanges of $14.7 billion in preferred stock for common equity, adding to the buffer required by the government following a "stress test" of the bank's ability to weather a deep recession.

The exchanges follow other capital actions by the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank, mainly the issuance of common stock and a sale of part of its stake in China Construction Bank Corp (601939.SS).

Bank of America has received $45 billion in capital injections from the Treasury Department's Troubled Asset Relief Program and has indicated it would like to begin repaying these funds by the end of the year.

Shares of Bank of America fell 26 cents, or 2.11 percent, to $12.09 in morning trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Juan Lagorio and Elinor Comlay; Editing by John Wallace)