Schumer: B of A Should Pay Less for Countrywide

Sen. Chuck Schumer has asked Bank of America to consider lowering its bid for Countrywide Financial because of its "recent history."

"These latest revelations should make Bank of America think even harder about how they want to proceed,'' the New York Democrat said in prepared remarks before a Senate hearing today on how Countrywide treats borrowers who've fallen behind on loans. "These practices will not be allowed to continue.''

I understand that Congress can't keep itself from inserting itself wherever it can, but I wonder if Sen. Schumer understands the implications of blowing up the acquisition of a major financial institution (and the largest mortgage lender in the country), without which, would likely go bankrupt.

Separately, it was the Democrats who were praising (and actually encouraging) institutions for lending more money to low income and minority neighborhoods over the past decade. And now Congress decided that these same institutions weren't there to stop minorities from borrowing.