BoA's CEO backs auto bailout, but one company must go

DETROIT (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp's (BAC.N) top official said on Tuesday that he would support a bailout for the U.S. auto industry if the American public backs it, but added that not all of Detroit's Big Three should survive.

"The first thing would be that they (the U.S. automakers) acknowledge that there is one too many auto companies and that consolidation needs to take place," Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis said in comments made to reporters at a Detroit Economic Club event.

"I'm just trying to make sure the (U.S. auto) industry survives," he added, but stressed that any bailout package must be based on viability and sustainability to make the three U.S. automakers competitive against their German and Asian rivals.

Top executives from General Motors Corp GM.N, Ford Motor Co (F.N) and Chrysler LLC -- which is owned by private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP CBS.UL -- were in Washington on Tuesday to plead their cases for an industry bailout at a Senate Banking Committee hearing.

The three automakers have seen their sales plummet to levels not seen in a quarter of a century, as consumers have either shunned their once-popular gas-thirsty, sport-utility vehicles, trucks and minivans, or have found it impossible to obtain auto loans as the credit crisis has taken hold.

GM and Chrysler in particular are bleeding cash and questions have been raised about their ability to survive without an infusion of government aid.

U.S. auto sales this year through the end of October were down 14.6 percent.

In afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange, General Motors was down more than 12 percent at $2.78, while Ford shares had fallen more than 6 percent to $1.61.

(Editing by Maureen Bavdek)