Bank of America Corp. (BAC), who is the largest U.S. lender, has raised $19.3 billion by selling securities at $15 a piece in the biggest sale of stock or preferred shares by a U.S. public company .

This has been recorded as the biggest sale since at least 2000.

The bank, which has planned to repay $45 billion of U.S. rescue funds, has sold 1.286 billion so-called common equivalent securities.

Bank of America have decided to use the proceeds for making itself free from government restrictions after accepting funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

Bank of America’s Stress Test

In May, by issuing 1.25 billion common shares at $10.77 each, the Bank of America has raised $13.5 billion in response to government stress tests and in order to help cushion losses tied to the takeover of Merrill Lynch & Co. The tests has measured the ability of banks to absorb losses in an extended recession, prompting Bank of America to raise capital by almost $40 billion.

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