Fed Hearings on Countrywide merger

The Federal Reserve has announced public hearings in Chicago and Los Angeles on Bank of America's acquisition of Countrywide. The Fed will consider the public benefits and adverse effects of the merger as well as the Community Reinvestment Act performance of the two institutions, before deciding whether to approve the merger under the Bank Holding Company Act. Community groups are likely to appear and raise issues regarding Countrywide's efforts to prevent foreclosures. In many local jurisdictions Countrywide is the single servicer filing the largest number of foreclosures.