Business

LEWIS SLAMS CRITICS

Ken Lewis came out swinging against criticism that his Bank of America is on the skids – vowing it doesn’t need any more federal rescue cash and can go it alone, even with the costly baggage of Merrill Lynch.

Investors cheered his remarks as a knockout punch, sending Bank of America shares 34 percent higher intraday, and lifting a cloud of doubt that the nation’s largest bank might become nationalized.

“It’s absurd,” Lewis said of the likelihood of a total government takeover, adding that it’s a “bunch of malicious rumors.”

In an interview on CNBC, Lewis also insisted the bank won’t go back a third time for more federal aid on top of the $45 billion it’s already received along with a federal backstop worth $118 billion on assets the bank now holds from acquisitions.

Lewis believes the bank can pay back the government for its aid in about three years.

He said the thorny issue of nationalizing the bank never came up in any of his talks with government officials, regulators or politicians.

“No one has ever said that they thought nationalization was the way to go, or was likely to happen,” he said, adding that such a drastic outcome wasn’t even a “remote possibility.”

BofA got slammed in the wake of a $15 billion, fourth-quarter loss at Merrill, which caught the bank off guard, Lewis said, because it was worse than expected.

“It was not a mistake,” he said. “It is a temporary burden, but in the long term, we are going to be very happy we own Merrill Lynch and have filled those strategic holes we’ve filled.”

What troubles him now is the $500,000 cap the White House proposed for top executives at rescued banks.

“I don’t feel good about the $500,000,” he said, but “I’ll take $500,000.” He earned more than $20.4 million in 2007.

Lewis is also putting his money on the bank, buying 200,000 shares for $958,340 on Wednesday. Last month, he paid $1.2 million for 200,000 shares.

Shares ended yesterday 27 percent higher at $6.13, up $1.29 – nearly double the price two days earlier when shares sank to $3.77.

In all, Lewis’ newly acquired shares earned him a paper profit of $294,000 – a 14 percent return for a single day. paul.tharp@nypost.com