BofA Needs Board Members With Actual Banking Experience

The government says that Bank of America, the biggest bank in the U.S., needs to add board members with actual banking experience. The Wall Street Journal is reporting about that federal officials are ramping up the pressure on Bank of America to overhaul its board.

The Journal reports:

The move represents unusual influence by the federal government over the workings of a financial institution in which it doesn't own a stake. It's particularly significant because many of the bank's woes stem from its purchase of Merrill Lynch & Co. -- an acquisition that was completed after heavy prodding by federal regulators. The Merrill deliberations were the beginning of regulators' deepening involvement in the Charlotte, N.C., lender's day-to-day operations.

The moves underscore the balancing act faced by the federal government as it tries to steer the banking sector through its crisis while also involved in a broader pattern of engagement in the operations of individual U.S. banks.

Stress tests results announced last week revealed that the Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America needed to raise an additional $33.9 billion in equity.