B of A Criticizes Competing Bids: In...

B of A Criticizes Competing Bids: In an unusually strong lobbying effort, Chairman Richard M. Rosenberg raised questions with regulators this month about BankAmerica’s two major competitors for the failed Bank of New England. In letters to the Federal Reserve Board, Rosenberg questioned whether a bid from a group that includes the investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. would violate federal laws separating bank ownership from commerce. He suggested that awarding the bid to a group led by the beleaguered Bank of Boston might create a bigger bailout down the line for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. KKR did not respond. Bank of Boston argued that its bid would save the FDIC money because it would consolidate operations.