Nobody would buy it without some government insurance, making it pointless. The best paths now are either letting it orderly fail (if that's possible) or forced

Nobody would buy it without some government insurance, making it pointless. The best paths now are either letting it orderly fail (if that's possible) or forced nationalization at a symbolic price. But if I had to bet, my money would be on some travesty against the US taxpayer like Bear Stearns good assets sold for close to nothing and taxpayers taking the junk mortgage assets. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear_Stearns#Fed_bailout_and_sale_to_JPMorgan_Chase http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear_Stearns#Fed_bailout_and_sa... But current BofA management will keep complicating it as long as possible, maximizing their income. Also the legal pandora's box of imminent lawsuits makes thing very bleak.