Bank Of America

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Bank of America Corp. said Wednesday it has repaid the entire $45 billion it owed U.S. taxpayers as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Bank of America, which announced its agreement with the U.S. Treasury to repay TARP last week, funded the repayment through a combination of cash on hand and the sale of $19.29 billion of securities that would convert into common stock. The stock increase remains subject to shareholder approval. -Associated Press

Ravens post, quickly remove tweet on 'Ravenized' plane The Baltimore Ravens posted Wednesday and then took down a message on Twitter about a "Ravenized" AirTran Airways plane to be put on the airline's schedule out of BWI Marshall Airport. Although the post on the micro-blogging site was deleted, the Twitter message was re-tweeted at least five times. AirTran spokesman Christopher White said the airline would not confirm the tweet. The Ravens declined to comment. AirTran already has a partnership with Atlanta's NFL team that includes a Falcons-themed plane.

WASHINGTON - -A federal judge in New York Monday rejected a $33 million settlement between the Securities and Exchange Commission and Bank of America, throwing into doubt the future of one of the government's chief cases against a firm charged with wrongdoing in the financial crisis. Using biting language, Judge Jed Rakoff accused the SEC, Wall Street's top regulator, of trying to nab a quick victory against a big bank while concealing the facts of the wrongdoing the agency alleges. He attacked Bank of America's top executives for allegedly trying to protect themselves at the expense of the company's shareholders.

Edward Gerard Novak, a retired banker who had served as the chairman of the boards of the Baltimore Museum of Industry and the Maryland Food Bank, died Sunday of prostate cancer at University of Maryland Medical Center. He was 55 and lived in Baldwin. Mr. Novak, the son of a Westinghouse Electric Corp. worker and a homemaker, was born in Baltimore and spent his early years in Violetville. In the 1960s, he moved with his family to Eldersburg and graduated in 1973 from South Carroll High School.

Ten of the nation's 19 largest banks must raise a total of $74.6 billion to withstand a worse-than-expected economic downturn, according to results of government "stress tests" released Thursday. Bank of America Corp. led the way with a need for $33.9 billion in new capital, followed by Wells Fargo & Co. with $13.7 billion, GMAC with $11.5 billion, Citigroup Inc. with $5.5 billion and Morgan Stanley with $1.8 billion. But nine of the banks have no need to raise new money, and federal officials emphasized that all the banks have enough to handle current economic conditions.

The choice that regulators gave Bank of America chief Kenneth Lewis could not have been clearer: Harm your shareholders or lose your job. Lewis chose to keep his job. Rarely does the divide between corporate managers and the owners they're supposed to represent become so obvious. Lewis' sworn testimony, made available this week, shows he reversed his decision to scrap a disastrous merger with Merrill Lynch after then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson threatened to fire him if the bank refused the deal.

NEW YORK - Good news from a bank - finally - sent the stock market to its best gain this year. The Dow Jones industrial average soared almost 400 points after Citigroup Inc.'s chief executive said the troubled banking company was profitable through the first two months of this year and is having its best quarter since the third quarter of 2007. "I am most encouraged with the strength of our business so far in 2009," Vikram Pandit, Citigroup's CEO, wrote in a memo to employees. That raised hope that the financial sector could be nearing a bottom, and it unleashed a broad rally among financial stocks.

WASHINGTON -President Barack Obama will release the details of his foreclosure prevention plan Wednesday, the White House announced yesterday, as several large banks pledged to temporarily stop foreclosures until the program is in place. Obama will make the eagerly awaited announcement from Arizona, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters yesterday afternoon. That schedule came as J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup announced temporary moratoriums on foreclosures at the urging of a key House member.