Invest in Bank of America? Some Insiders Are.

Insiders at Bank of America (BAC) have been taking positions in the stock over the last few weeks. This includes the CEO Ken Lewis, former President John Thain, and various directors. As seen in the chart below, the stock, while still in a steep down trend, has seen an increase in volume over the last month, and has "rallied" off its recent 52-week low of $3.77 (but still down tremendously from its 52-week high of $43.60).

Source: Bigcharts.com

Ken Lewis was recently interviewed on CNBC. When asked if Bank of America will take addition TARP money beyond the $45 billion that has already been provided to the company, Lewis gave a categorical no. Yet it could be argued that BAC is technically insolvent, and that nationalization may be the next step (see John Brown article at SeekingAlpha), regardless of the CEO's view on existing and future TARP funds. Nonetheless, given the CEO's optimism (and his willingness to back it up with additional purchases), a recent upgrade, and comments this week by Treasury Secretary Geither that are expected to begin publicly addressing potential solutions for the housing and credit problems, this could turn out to be an interesting week for BAC shareholders, and may provide a window for the rest of us as to the viability and direction of the banking sector, the economy, and the market in general (stimulus bills notwithstanding).