Bank of America and Wikileaks

Even without issuing anything about the Bank of America (BOA), Wikileaks has succeeeded in changing the BOA share price just by the merest of hints.

Not only that but the Bank of America is moving into high gear with a"War Room' created to try and undercut potential threats to the bank.

this war room startede by initiating the buying up of hundreds of derogatory internat domain names, such as BankofAmericaSucks.com and BrianMoynihanblows.com (BofA's CEO)for example as a way of limiting potential damage.

The bank already has a battery of law suits to contend with. According to Truthout:

"BofA is already under the gun, defending itself from multiple lawsuits from private investors as well as Fannie and Freddie demanding that the bank buy back billions worth of toxic mortgages-backed securities. The firm stopped issuing subprime mortgages in 2001, but it kept underwriting subprime mortgage-backed securities for many years. In September 2009, for example, BofA underwrote $239 million worth of securities backed by subprime loans. BofA has reserved $4.4 billion for these "put back" lawsuits. If Assange has emails showing that top executives at BofA knew they were peddling toxic dreck to investors, it would rock the firm and give tremendous ammunition to the army of lawyers already knocking on BofA's door."

And then there is the reckless and illegal foreclosures issue.

"BofA is at the heart of the robo-signing scandal and has wrongfully foreclosed on countless American families. One poor woman returned to a vacation home to find it locked, all her possessions gone -- including the ashes of her late husband. How could such a mistake be made? A BofA employee deposed in February 2010 said that she signed as many as 8,000 foreclosure documents a month without reviewing them, in violation of the law. Mounting questions about the fraudulent and illegal foreclosure practices at the big banks and mortgage service companies prompted BofA to temporarily halt foreclosures nationwide in October 2010. If Wikileaks can document that top BofA officials have a callous disregard for legal processes and constitutionally protected property rights, BofA's mounting legal liability may not be sustainable."

The list goes on. And this is only what is public knowledge. It brings into question the governances practices of the Board of Directors and CEO Brian Moynihan whos income for 2009 was $800,000.00 with Restricted stock awards of $5,200,000.00
and other bits and pieces beringing his Total Compensation to $6,511,468.00.

Actually not a lot compared to many banks. Even bank CEOs in Australia earn (I say earn, I mean get paid) much more than that.

But whatever wikileaks has on the bank, if anything,it is sure to be a dozy.