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Bloomberg first reported the application on Tuesday. Shares of
BofA gained 3% after the report came out, dipping slightly to
close at 2.02%.
Berkshire, which has a 9.96% stake in BofA, filed an application
with the Fed this month, assuring the regulator that it will
passively invest in the bank and will not try to force a change
in strategy or corporate structure.
"Berkshire routinely assesses market conditions and may decide
to purchase additional shares of common stock of Bank of America
based on its evaluation of the investment opportunity presented
by such purchases," the application reads.
"Berkshire anticipates that any such purchases would be on the
open market at prevailing market prices."
Ownership above the 10% level attracts increased regulatory
scrutiny and the Federal Reserve only allows investors to take
double-digit stakes on the assurance the buyer would not try to
force a controlling influence.
Berkshire's biggest stock market commitment remains in financial
services. It is already the largest shareholder in BofA as well
as American Express Co and Wells Fargo <WFC.N> and has a
significant stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co.
In 2017, Berkshire pulled https://reut.rs/2MIl8cn a similar
application to boost its Wells Fargo stake after the bank was
beset by a scandal over its creation of unauthorized customer
accounts.
Bank of America is slated to report its third-quarter results on
Wednesday.
(Reporting by Manjesh Bharath in Bengaluru and Pete Schroeder;
Editing by Shinjini Ganguli, Michelle Price and Tom Brown)
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