Bank of America To Hand Over Merrill Legal Documents

Published: 13-Oct-2009

Shareholders and regulators had criticised the officials of the bank for not disclosing the bonuses, as well as Merrill Lynch’s fourth quarter loss of $15.8 billion

Unable to deal with increasing investigations and lawsuits, Bank of America, which had bought Merrill Lynch for $29 billion last year, is engaged in discussions with regulators to provide documents related to the legal advice it received on the merger – reported Bloomberg.

Reportedly, Shareholders and regulators had criticised the officials of the bank for not disclosing the bonuses, as well as Merrill Lynch’s fourth quarter loss of $15.8 billion, before the merger deal was approved.

The bank has been in talks with Andrew Cuomo, New York Attorney General, about turning over documents, changing its position that the information can not be revealed as it is a privileged communication between the bank and its lawyers.

Last month, Jed Rakoff, a US District Judge in Manhattan had rejected a $33 million settlement between the Charlotte-based bank and the SEC after the agency’s probe of the merger, saying that the bank had issued a deceptive proxy statement. The case is scheduled for trial in March, reported the news agency.

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