Public Citizen, Other Groups Call For U.S. To Break Up Bank Of America – Reuters
January 25, 2012

“A group of consumer advocates, academics and economists want to end “too-big-to-fail” banks, starting with Bank of America Corp. The group, led by onsumer advocacy organization Public Citizen, plans to file a petition with the Federal Reserve Board and other regulators on Wednesday asking them to carve the bank into simpler, safer pieces. The Fed and the coalition of regulators known as the Financial Stability Oversight Council have the authority to take such action under the Dodd-Frank financial reform law passed in 2010, the group said. Nearly two dozen professors and groups have joined the effort. Bank of America, the Fed and the Treasury declined to comment on the planned petition. Some community groups decided to pass on signing the entreaty. Janis Bowdler, an official with the National Council of La Raza, said the letter was distributed on a list-serve for a coalition called Americans for Financial Reform, but her group decided not to join up. ‘I don’t want to downplay the concerns that were raised,’ said Bowdler, “but for now, a strong housing market and cleaning up Countrywide is the priority for us.” Click here for more.