[Nervous Tick]

>> 2 trillion all told and change

Huh? I’m looking at the BAC balance sheet right now. Where do you get that number, as being how much they need to borrow at 8% interest? I think you’re high by a factor of 3.

[Nervous Tick]

Correction: you’re off by a factor of FIVE. Or more. I’m being generous with 5.

[JasonC]

No, I am giving their total financing needs. Some they can meet via deposits with interest costs only around 3% (mostly CDs and the like), but also with operating costs, obviously. For marketed debt specifically, BAC has $228 billion long term, and $416 billion short term. MER has $697 billion long term, only $19 billion short term - they deliberately drove that to near zero to avoid high refinancing costs in the short run. Combined, the new entity will need to maintain (at competitive rates, in the issuance market first off, but since that trades in line with the secondary market, period), $435 billion in short term debts and $925 billion in long term debts. They also have $38 billion or so in preferred stock outstanding, between them.