Hmmmm, I guess it's best to research details before taking as gospel things you read on the internet. Google Is Your Friend.

I had been assuming that the crucial date was mid-2012, but this is what google found:
TRUPS issued before May 19, 2010, by larger bank and thrift holding companies will continue to be treated as Tier 1 capital until January 2013. At that time, the Tier 1 capital treatment will be phased out over a three-year period ending in January 2016. The specifics of this phaseout of Tier 1 capital treatment are to be determined.

Well this is from the internet, too, but it indicates, at least as of October that even if BAC (and several other large banks) had to just stop counting their Trust Preferreds as Tier 1 capital, they would still have enough Tier 1 capital to meet regulatory requirements. http://seekingalpha.com/article/229901-capital-rule-changes-... Even though it's from the internet, there are some numbers that you can verify, and you can probably update with the 2010 Q4 capital numbers to update.

AJ