[_ouxp]

Buffett owns about a quarter of Berkshire Hathaway, which owns warrants to purchase about a 10% stake in Bank of America at a deep discount to the current price. Berkshire does not currently have voting rights because the warrants haven't been exercised. That's not to say Buffett can't or doesn't influence Bank of America, but it is much more of distant relationship than, for example, the dozens of operating companies whose CEOs report to Buffett. It seems a stretch to imagine him involved at this level at all.

[jsudhams]

Doesn't Warren own more parts in other banks? So is he like controlling banks?

[_ouxp]

Berkshire, which Buffett manages and effectively controls, owns insurance companies and a mortgage lender outright. Berkshire also has stakes in publicly traded banks including US Bank, Wells Fargo, and American Express (they converted into a deposit-taking bank company in the wake of the financial crisis). Then there's Bank of America, in which Berkshire has warrants to buy a stake < 10%, but they likely won't be exercised until they're about to expire.

Beyond this, managers and policy makers listen when Buffett talks/writes; an outcome of his 50-year track record in investing and managing at Berkshire. I personally don't think there's anything sinister going on.

You can get a really good overview of Berkshire as a company, including its operating companies, investment philosophy, and current investment holdings from the annual letters that Buffett writes: http://berkshirehathaway.com/letters/letters.html

If you want to see exactly what securities Berkshire owns, you can look up the 13F filings on http://edgar.sec.gov

[jacquesm]

Control is a magic word and requires certain minimum percentages of shares to be held.

[jsudhams]

Yes but then there is that percentage 8 to 10% he owns in large banks which means he will have say in what banks do atleast unofficially.