So, Bank of America got 45 billion dollars in the bailout. Even spiffier, they've been borrowing money from the Fed for, well, nothing, and then buying Treasuries and garnering 3.5%
During one three-month period in 2009, Bank of America borrowed more than $48 billion at rates ranging from 0.25 to 0.5 percent. Meanwhile, the largest U.S. lender tripled its holdings of Treasuries and other taxpayer-backed debt to about $15 billion -- securities that yielded 3.5 percent.
source, Huffington Post
Neat trick, I wonder if the Federal government would lend me $48 billion?
So what do I get in the mail today? From this very bank?
Well, the very first credit card I ever got (I got a free pumpkin, it was Hallowe'en in 1994, I think, and I though "cool, a free pumpkin -- all I have to do is fill out this form"), I got from a little bank in California, probably CalFed or something like that. Unfortunately, over the years, the card issuer changed hands several times, and you know who owns my account now?
Well, guess what, it's Bank of America.