Feds Probe BofA-Merrill Deal

Bank's $33M fine doesn't do 'justice' to shareholders, public: judge

(NEWSER) - A federal judge today scrapped the $33 million settlement Bank of America and the SEC agreed on as punishment for the bank's not informing shareholders of bonuses paid to Merrill Lynch executives just before the bank bought Merrill, the New York Times reports. Saying BofA "materially lied, " Jed Rakoff noted that the very shareholders who were possibly misled by management would be footing the bill for the settlement. More»

(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»

$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»

Commission says bank misled investors over Merrill payout

(NEWSER) - Bank of America will pay $33 million to settle a federal lawsuit, filed today, which says the bank misled its investors, Reuters reports. During its takeover of Merrill Lynch, the lawsuit charges, Bank of America told investors Merrill wouldn’t pay bonuses without BoA’s permission before the deal closed. But, the Securities and Exchange Commission holds, BofA had “contractually authorized” Merrill to pay $5.8 billion in bonuses, the Wall Street Journal adds. More»

Bank may have illegally misled investors over pre-takeover Merrill payouts

(NEWSER) - The SEC is looking into whether Bank of America violated federal law by failing to let investors know Merrill Lynch planned to pay its execs $3.62 billion in bonuses before it was taken over by BofA last year, the Financial Times reports. The regulator is reviewing the bank's disclosure to judge whether there was any dereliction. More»