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Bank of America to buy MBNA for $35bn
New York: Bank of America Corp. said on Thursday it has agreed to buy MBNA Corp. the biggest independent credit card lender, for $35 billion, making the No. 2 U.S. bank one of the world's largest card issuers.

The stock-and-cash transaction, which offered a premium of 30.6 percent for MBNA, will more than double Bank of America's card business, giving it 40 million cardholders and $143 billion in balances.

Bank of America said the purchase will make it the world's largest issuer of Visa and MasterCard credit, debit and prepaid cards. It will become the leading rival in cards to Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. and bigger than American Express Co.

MBNA is Bank of America Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis' second big acquisition, following the $48 billion purchase of Fleet Boston Financial Corp. in April 2004.
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