Brian Moynihan's Mortgage Battle With Uncle Sam Won't Break BofA

The Department of Justice may try and hold out for the full $17B settlement, but eventually the government will realize that playing hardball with Bank of America will only decrease the bank’s lending capabilities and hurt the economy, says Bill Smead, portfolio manager for the Smead Value Fund. Smead says the operating businesses at BofA are definitely manageable despite the $4B accounting snafu this spring. He says Brian Moynihan has Warren Buffett's confidence and should have investors' confidence as well because he is doing the right things, especially at Merrill Lynch which is nicely transitioning to a fee based business.