Questions over Countrywide acquisition remain

— -- Is Bank of America overpaying for Countrywide?

"There may be more ugliness to come out of Countrywide that will affect Bank of America's stock," explained Brian Koss, executive vice president for Mortgage Network, a lender, and a former executive at Countrywide. "And there is a belief (the deal) might not happen."

The acquisition would catapult Bank of America from the nation's No. 5 mortgage lender all the way to the top spot, with a dominant 25% market share. It would also salvage Countrywide's future, which has been threatened by soaring foreclosures and allegations of fraud and predatory lending.

CEO Ken Lewis, who has turned Bank of America into a financial titan with a series of shrewd acquisitions, tried to assure investors that scores of employees had scoured Countrywide's books for more than a month and that there would be no nasty surprises.

Bank of America "knows more about them than anyone else … (but) they don't know, either, what's going to happen with this stuff," Glinsman says.