Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis, a major financial figure, has gone on record, predicting that the downturn in the U.S. economy will rage until the middle of 2009, when he expects housing markets to stabilize.
Lewis told the Detroit Economic Club that it’s “pretty clear” the U.S. is in a recession and that he supports the short-term measures by the government, the Federal Reserve and the private sector to try to inject capital into the markets.
Bank of America is the largest private mortgage lender in the United States, and Lewis thought it was necessary to go to Detroit, home of the auto industry. Ford, Chrysler and General Motors are seeking a $25 billion bailout from Congress.
Source: Reuters, “No U.S. Turnaround Till Mid-2009: Bank Of America CEO"