BofA says still in talks to exit government pact
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bank of America Chief Executive Ken Lewis said his company is still in talks with U.S. officials on how to compensate the government for a prior loss-sharing agreement, according to a letter released by a watchdog lawmaker on Thursday.
Lewis called the government talks "thoughtful and professional" and said Bank of America was confident it would resolve the issue, in a Wednesday letter to Rep. Edolphus Towns, chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Bank of America has been negotiating how much it must pay for an agreement -- part of a $20 billion bailout for the firm -- in which the government said it would share losses on $118 billion of toxic assets.
Towns called on Lewis to repay the taxpayers and stop "stonewalling."
"It seems that the bank wants to have it both ways -- all the benefits of government insurance without having to pay a dime for all of its benefits," he said in statement.
Towns' committee is examining the role of the government in Bank of America's buy of investment bank Merrill Lynch.
(Reporting by Kim Dixon and Karey Wutkowski; Editing by Phil Berlowitz, Leslie Gevirtz)
