SEC Probes BofA for Being Mum on Merrill Bonuses

(NEWSER) - The judge who has refused to sign off on Bank of America's settlement with the SEC over $3.6 billion in bonuses paid to Merrill Lynch delivered a stinging rebuke to both parties in a hearing yesterday, the New York Times reports. The firms "effectively lied to their shareholders" over the pre-merger bonuses, and the SEC's proposed $33 million settlement seems "strangely askew," said Judge Jed Rakoff. More»

FBI, Justice Department investigate timing of bonus payments: source

(NEWSER) - Bank of America's acquisition of Merrill Lynch is the focus of an ongoing investigation by the FBI and Justice Department, sources tell the Charlotte Observer, the bank's hometown paper. The SEC and the AGs of New York and North Carolina have already launched civil probes of the timing of huge bonuses paid to Merrill execs shortly before the deal closed; the feds' involvement indicates that criminal charges may also be in play. More»

$33M deal with SEC raises questions of fairness; hearing set

(NEWSER) - Bank of America won't be able to quietly settle the flap over bonuses for Merrill Lynch execs with a simple $33 million payout to the SEC, a federal judge ruled yesterday. Judge Jed Rakoff refused to sign off on the settlement, saying that doing so would leave the public in the dark over whether the bank lied to shareholders and whether the $5.8 billion in bonuses it approved came from bailout funds. He scheduled a Monday hearing on the matter, Reuters reports. More»

Firms paid more than they made: Cuomo

(NEWSER) - The financial crisis and government bailouts did little to change Wall Street’s executive compensation habits, New York's attorney general says. All nine banks given assistance by TARP paid out bonuses in 2008—well before any paid back government loans, according to a survey ordered by Andrew Cuomo. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and JPMorgan Chase actually paid more in bonuses than the firms made for the year, the Wall Street Journal reports. More»

Private bonus agreement backs up Thain's claim that Bank of America was aware of payouts

(NEWSER) - Ousted Merrill Lynch boss John Thain appears to have been speaking the truth when he said Bank of America knew all about Merrill's controversial December bonuses, the Wall Street Journal reports. A copy of a private bonus agreement obtained by the Journal shows that the two firms agreed on a combined bonus pool of $5.8 billion ahead of the bailout-funded takeover. More»