Buffett voices confidence in Bank of America bet

10/5/2011

LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif. -- Billionaire investor Warren Buffett is not concerned by the sharp drop in Bank of America Corp. shares in the last couple of days, despite his $5 billion investment in the company in late August, he said yesterday.

“We agreed to hold it for at least five years, so what I’m thinking about is where Bank of America will be in five years, and nothing in the last 24 hours or 48 hours has changed my views on that,” the Berkshire Hathaway Inc. chief executive told Reuters.

Mr. Buffett’s investment gave him preferred shares with a hefty dividend and warrants that represent 6.5 percent of the firm’s stock. The stock rose 33 percent in the five days after his investment was announced but has now fallen 37 percent since.