Title: A bill to amend title 31, United States Code, to reform the manner in which the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is audited by the Comptroller General of the United States and the manner in which such audits are reported, and for other purposes.
S.513 Title: A bill to require the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to publish information on financial assistance provided to various entities, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Sen Sanders, Bernard [VT]
2 Co-sponsors:
Sen Feingold, Russell D. [WI] - 3/5/2009 Sen Lincoln, Blanche L. [AR] - 3/5/2009
WSJ: BofA CEO says was told to be quiet on Merrill 1 minute ago By The Associated Press
NEW YORK _ Bank of America Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis told the New York attorney general he believed former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke wanted him to keep quiet about the worsening terms of the bank's acquisition of Merrill Lynch, according to testimony reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
The New York AG's office plans to release the testimony on Thursday to federal regulators and overseers of bailout funds and banks, the newspaper reported after reviewing a transcript.
"We believe we acted legally and appropriately with regard to the Merrill Lynch transaction," Bank of America spokesman Scott Silvestri told The Associated Press Thursday.
He declined further comment about the report.
Lewis testified in February to New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office, which has been trying to determine if Merrill and Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America failed to provide adequate disclosures to shareholders about the more than $15 billion in losses Merrill incurred in the 2008 fourth quarter and hefty bonus payments. Had they had that information, BofA shareholders might have voted down the deal.
The Journal said in Thursday's edition that Lewis doesn't say in the transcript that he was told specifically to remain silent about Merrill's burgeoning losses. But the paper quotes Lewis as testifying that disclosing that information "wasn't up to me," and that he was warned by Paulson and Bernanke that failing to complete Merrill's takeover would "impose a big risk to the financial system."
Citing a person familiar with the matter, the newspaper said Paulson told the NY AG's office last month that Lewis may have misread some remarks about Treasury's disclosure requirements as instead pertaining to his bank's obligations.
The government helped orchestrate the acquisition of Merrill by Bank of America over the same weekend in September that another investment bank, Lehman Brothers, went under and insurer AIG received its initial government support. Both the government and Wall Street were under substantial pressure to contain the financial meltdown.
Bank of America had received $25 billion in federal bailout funds, but was later given an additional $20 billion as Lewis showed trepidation about completing Merrill's purchase and said the bank needed help offsetting the losses it was absorbing from the troubled brokerage.
Just a few weeks after the deal was completed, Bank of America's earnings report showed the major hit its balance sheet would take on the Merrill transaction, quickly making Lewis the target of much shareholder fury.
Two of the nation's largest state pension funds are seeking to lead a class action lawsuit against Bank of America, alleging the bank's management "misstated or omitted" important information about Merrill's financial health before the deal was completed.
And Finger Interests Number One Ltd., which owns about one-fifth of one percent of Bank of America stock, is asking shareholders to vote against re-electing Lewis as well as lead director O. Temple Sloan and Jackie Ward during the bank's annual meeting April 29.
Bank of America warned of worsening loan default problems this week even as it posted a first-quarter profit of $2.81 billion. The amount of its problem loans more than tripled to $25.7 billion and Lewis said he couldn't predict when the bank's credit morass would end. -- Merrill Lynch Execs Paid Themselves $15 Billion on $21.5 Billion in Losses -
MW: Have you libeled them or published privileged information? Mike Morgan: No.
MW: Why was G-Sax given $10 billion out of the TARP funds before federal regulators checked their books to see if they were solvent? Morgan: Because King Henry (Henry Paulson) said so. As former CEO of Goldman Sachs, the last thing he wanted to see was a collapse of Goldman Sachs. And as Treasury Secretary with a big stick, he could do whatever he pleased . . . and he did.
MW: After Bear Stearns and Lehman Bros. defaulted, Merrill Lynch quickly sold out to Bank of America. Morgan: Merrill was being run by John Thain, the former Goldman Sachs executive that helped Hank Paulson force out Jon Corzine who at the time was c--CEO with Paulson.
MW: What is the nature of the relationship between G-Sax and the political establishment in Washington? Morgan: If I answered that question I would need to increase the thickness of my Kevlar body suit.
Who is running America? Have you ever asked that question?
Under the doctrine of Parens Patriae, "Government As Parent", as a result of the manipulated bankruptcy of the United States of America in 1930, ALL the assets of the American people, their person, and of our country itself are held by the Depository Trust Corporation at 55 Water Street, NY, NY, secured by UCC Commercial Liens, which are then monetized as "debt money" by the Federal Reserve. It may interest you to know that under the umbrella of the Depository Trust Corporation lies the CEDE Corporation, the Federal Reserve Corporation and the American Bar Association, the legal arm of the banking interests.
Now you know who is running America!
You might want to take exception to the name on the marquee at the entrance to 55 Water Street. . . . "Tower of Power" . . . ???
Did you ever hear of the Independent Treasury Act of 1921? No, you say.... Hmmmmmmm....?
The Independent Treasury Act of 1921 suspended the de jure (meaning "by right of legal establishment") Treasury Department of the United States government. Our Congress turned the treasury department over to a private corporation, the Federal Reserve and their agents.
The bulk of the ownership of the Federal Reserve System, a very well kept secret from the American Citizen, is held by these banking interests (666elitez banksterz):
Rothschild Bank of London
Rothschild Bank of Berlin
Warburg Bank of Hamburg
Warburg Bank of Amsterdam
Lazard Brothers of Paris
Israel Moses Seif Banks of Italy
Chase Manhattan Bank of New York
Goldman, Sachs of New York
Lehman Brothers of New York
Kuhn Loeb Bank of New York
The Federal Reserve is at the root of most of our present laws. Basically, the Federal Reserve is the "STATE" of the United States.
See "Our Enemy, The STATE" by Albert J. Nock - 1935, his Classic Critique Distinguishing "Government" from the "STATE."
See Also Charts in Text Format of Interlocking Directorships and Family Linkages taken from "Federal Reserve Directors: A Study of Corporate and Banking Influence. Staff Report, Committee on Banking, Currency and Housing, House of Representatives, 94th Congress, 2nd Session, August 1976."
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