Prometheus 6

"Hey Earl, where's the $20 you owe me?"

"That was Earl that borrowed the money. I'm Steven, now..." 

By buying Countrywide, he's keeping the industry and regulators from the messy task of figuring out who would take on the responsibility of collecting payments for the millions of U.S. home loans serviced by the Calabasas, Calif.-based lender.

BofA to Buy Countrywide for $4B in Stock
By IEVA M. AUGSTUMS
AP Business Writer
6:53 AM CST, January 11, 2008

CHARLOTTE, N.C.

Bank of America Corp. said Friday it has agreed to buy Countrywide Financial for $4 billion in stock, a deal that both rescues the country's biggest mortgage lender and expands the financial services empire of the nation's largest consumer bank.

The acquisition will make Charlotte-based Bank of America the nation's biggest mortgage lender and loan servicer.

"Countrywide presents a rare opportunity for Bank of America to add what we believe is the best domestic mortgage platform at an attractive price and to affirm our position as the nation's premier lender to consumers," Bank of America chief executive Ken Lewis said in a statement.