In an unusual — and sure-to-be-humbling — move, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan will submit to a public grilling by a big investor on Wednesday. Hedge fund manager Bruce Berkowitz will host a 90 minute conference call with Moynihan starting at 1 p.m. EST — and he wants your "toughest questions" for Moynihan, whose troubled company's shares have fallen almost 50% this year.Berkowitz, founder of Fairholme Capital Management, said last week that the "purpose of the call is to better understand how Bank of America is navigating the economic environment." He invited skeptics to participate on the call. ASR sister publication American Banker took him at his word and sent along the list below.
FROM INVESTORS
Have you bought BofA stock in the past few days, and if so how much? If not, does that mean you don't see it as a buy?
What is your estimate of BofA's maximum exposure to legacy mortgages and how did you get to that number?
How much hedging has BofA done in credit default swaps, and do you believe they'd operate as advertised in a crisis?
BofA has already paid out $1.6 billion to settle claims your mortgages were so bad that Assured Guaranty isn't responsible for them. Why haven't you provisioned for losses stemming from similar claims by other bond insurers?
FROM DEPOSITORS
BofA was cutting branches even before the recent market crash. Will the events of recent days accelerate that process?
Why shouldn't I switch to a different institution immediately?
FROM COMMUNITY BANKERS
How long are you going to continue with your low-ball pricing of commercial loans?
FROM REGULATORS
In your living will, is Merrill Lynch the first to go or the last?
If your high capital levels compared to 2008 save you during the current hard times, will you start to sing the praises of Basel III?
FROM PUBLIC RELATIONS PROS
What do you think would be the optics for BofA of a capital raise? A sign of weakness or of strength?
FROM LAWYERS
Do you believe regulators or the market would ever permit BofA to unload Countrywide, as your bank has regularly argued in court filings it could do?
Would a Countrywide bankruptcy trigger a larger B of A contractual default, a loss of access to credit markets or a helpful house-cleaning?
FROM THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
Banks that were too big to fail were a major problem in the 2008 crisis. Now BofA is bigger still. Do you think it should be broken up? If not, how would you unwind without doing others great harm?
I'd like to hear you say "Buying Countrywide was a mistake. We were wrong." Can you say that?
You and your predecessor have touted the U.S. consumer as a strong long-term play. Will you say so today?
What is the status of B of A's living will? If necessary, how would you dismantle B of A without causing Lehman/AIG/Fannie/Freddie 2.0?
FROM VIKRAM PANDIT
How does it feel to be in the hot seat?
