Bank Of America Stock Takes Hit After WikiLeaks Rumors, Then Rebounds

UPDATE: Bank of America's stock rebounded in early trading Wednesday, rising .50 percent.

ORIGINAL POST: Bank of America's stock took a hit on Tuesday, as rumors circulated that WikiLeaks could release a trove of the bank's secret -- and potentially "unethical" -- documents next year.

As WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange cooly contemplates how best to "present" the data he says he has, investors in Bank of America are nervous: The bank's share price dropped 3.18 percent on Tuesday. The information-leaking organization is sitting on a massive pile of internal documents from one of the big U.S. banks, Assange told Forbes, and an interview he gave last year suggests the big bank could be the country's biggest, Bank of America.

According to Assange, his organization had five gigabytes of Bank of America documents in 2009, which the New York Times notes is roughly equivalent to 600,000 pages of information.

"You could call it the ecosystem of corruption," Assange told Forbes about the upcoming release. "There will be some flagrant violations, unethical practices that will be revealed." He noted, also, that "the great value is seeing the full spectrum" of how the bank operates.

Bank of America released a statement that expressed skepticism.

"More than a year ago WikiLeaks claimed to have the computer hard drive of a Bank of America executive," the statement says. "Aside from the claims themselves we have no evidence that supports this assertion."

If the documents do contain embarrassing information, they'll come at a bad time for the bank -- or perhaps they won't reveal much that the public doesn't already know. Amid disclosures that it employed "robo signers," who approved thousands of foreclosure documents without reading them, the bank temporarily halted its foreclosures, and it now faces a Federal racketeering lawsuit. In a recent court case, a bank employee said the mortgage company that Bank of America now owns failed to deliver key mortgage documents when it sold those mortgages.

As the mortgage and foreclosure controversy drags on, investors and homeowners alike are challenging the way Bank of America handled vitally important paperwork.

Comments

[Longtimeliberal]

02:25 PM on 12/12/2010

Modify all loans, reduce principal, destroy MERS and stop securitization of mortgages. The banks hide their money-they can afford it.

[Sandra Holtzman]

08:51 PM on 12/05/2010

I think WikiLeaks is the best thing that ever happened. There cannot be enough transparancy in every area we live and operate in. The government and big co's are too secretive and it's not in the general voting population's best interest.

[Thinklongterm]

05:24 PM on 12/05/2010

He should have leaked this info first! This is what the people want/need to see.

[larmar]

08:03 PM on 12/04/2010

600,000 pages..."You could call it the ecosystem of corruption,"

And STILL no Banksters have done the Perp walk!

[wyb]

07:11 PM on 12/04/2010

I wonder what it would take in terms of disclosure to shift, the displaced outrage torward the present administration, If for example, if Wiki disclosed that Cheney put has Saddam in a witness protection program in Switzerland after closing a Haliburtin/ Kurd exclusive rights contract? If Wiki exposed a large money transfer to several members of the U.S. Supreme Court on the 2000 presidential election decision?
I am not sure that would alter the hard shift to the right in this country. I am not sure what it would take to change the true believers.

[Oginikwe]

05:03 PM on 12/04/2010

Jumping Julian! Go, man, go! Let us in on what's going on, too.

He's exposed all the corruption and loss of our tax dollars, and I would like to know what the BOA has been up to that would send their stock reeling. I find it funny that he's released documents before and everyone grumbled but the minute it's reported that he's going to release documents about and from the BOA, blood-lust and calls for excution dominate the the media from the talking heads.

[merrymico]

06:39 AM on 12/05/2010

I soooo agree with you.

[kizzie]

12:50 AM on 12/04/2010

They probably boosted their stock back up themselves, by getting a backdoor deal again from the Fed and it's buddies!
They want to make it appear they are still in control but I bet they are wetting their panties!!! They better buy stock in DEPENDS!
I'm expecting another big crash in the first part of next year---wanna bet????

[HopeR]

05:11 AM on 12/02/2010

I hope they don't off him!

[kizzie]

12:51 AM on 12/04/2010

I don't think he'll make it much longer---they're out for blood, again. You don't mess with the secret team.

[larmar]

08:04 PM on 12/04/2010

Dead man walking here.

[Dave Harpe]

11:51 PM on 12/01/2010

Wikileaks had no effect on the war. It won't affect this bank either. I would have bought at the trough and then collected a nice profit if I was a devious sort with money to play with. Some probably did.

[jcaunter]

03:49 PM on 12/03/2010

Yeah, it's obviously better to sit back and let the corrupt oligarchy take further control of America without a fight; that way America will collapse all the sooner under the weight of the Oligarchy's corruption.

[Dave Harpe]

04:07 AM on 12/05/2010

I have no clue how to fight these bastards. Any suggestions? It looks to me like our nation is already toast.

[logicanada]

10:32 PM on 12/01/2010

I would bet their shredders are going 24-7.

[kizzie]

12:53 AM on 12/04/2010

JUst like Bush gave Enron a month to do before they went for the papers---

[kaylayuh]

09:39 PM on 12/01/2010

I certainly hope it's Bank of America that is WikiLeaked. If it's JP Morgan or Citigroup, my new 401k plan will be negative before it's even been positive! :(


On a serious note, any bank participating in unethical, illegal behavior should be outed for the creeps that they are. Their practices should be made public and we should be protesting in front of their offices.

[ingsoc84]

07:55 PM on 12/01/2010

I was college educated with an engineering degree. Bought my previous house via WaMu and somehow got scammed by mortgage brokers online (www.bankrate.com) and was turned down for a mortgage a week before the house was to close. Got desparate and got suckered into the WaMu's subprime. Four years of hell and was finally able to sell the house at a breakeven. Never 'til that day how deceiving banks can be, and even today, I have huge distrust of commercial banks.

[JacksonD]

02:15 AM on 12/02/2010

So glad that you were able to get out without owing a bunch of money.  Rent, you won't have to drag that ball and chain around - home ownership isn't all it's cracked up to be.

[James M Connor]

05:47 PM on 12/01/2010

Julian Assange reps main street

[melton244]

04:00 PM on 12/01/2010

Wikileaks, you are supported by many. Keep exposing the corruption. Next, Arms dealers, big Agri, Big Pharma and US lobbyist.

[SUSANINCOLUMBIA]

03:31 PM on 12/01/2010

Exposing the corruption and immorality of wars for profit by Wikileaks is one thing. But going after the financial institutions and the criminals who caused the global economic crisis and massive global unemployment and exposing them for thugs they are is something else. I fear for the safety of Julian Assange. The powerful are going to do all they can to silence this man. This is gonna get ugly.

[Erica]

10:35 PM on 12/01/2010

He doesn't seem to be afraid. I completely admire that and I'm glad he's doing what he does.

[kizzie]

12:55 AM on 12/04/2010

I fear for him, also. Read: The Secret Team
Hope he has several copies of everything so if something happens to him----OH, they'll find those, too.