The real reason why Ken Lewis bought Merrill Lynch

He wanted to save his job!

When Ken Lewis approached Treasury about abandoning the Merrill Lynch bid, the Federal Reserve then told Ken that the government would can management if they canned the Merrill Lynch deal. From the WSJ:

Mr. Bernanke said Bank of America had no justification for ditching Merrill, according to people who heard the remarks. A Federal Reserve official warned that if Mr. Lewis did so and needed more government money down the road, Bank of America could expect regulators to think hard about their confidence in management. Mr. Lewis was told that the government would consider ousting executives and directors, people close to the bank say.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123379687205650255.html?mod=testMod

Ken couldn't kick the can of the Merrill merger, or he else he would of been kicked out! So instead, Ken kicks out John Thain, while he keeps his job, and billions and billions of shareholder wealth goes away, so Ken can stay employed!

Now BofA can turns into the kick bucket!