Bank of America Corp. (BAC), before its shareholders approved
the bank's $50 billion buy of Merrill Lynch in December 2008, was
informed of far greater losses at the investment firm than had been
disclosed in proxy documents filed with regulators, BofA's
then-chief executive, Kenneth Lewis, disclosed in court documents
filed late Sunday in a shareholder lawsuit, the New York Times
reported Sunday on its website.
Top BofA executives, including Lewis, days before the deal was
approved were told the losses at Merrill Lynch would harm earnings
at the combined company for years, although shareholders were not
told of the coming losses, the newspaper reported, according to the
documents, filed in Federal District Court in Manhattan.
Bank of America declined comment to the Times. A lawyer for Mr.
Lewis, Andrew Ceresney, declined comment on the filing but noted
that a motion filed Sunday on Mr. Lewis' behalf contended that the
former CEO was told by BofA's law firm, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen
& Katz, and by other bank executives that it was not necessary
to disclose the anticipated losses.
Full story at:
www.nytimes.com/2012/06/04/business/bank-of-america-withheld-loss-figures-ahead-o
-merrill-vote.html?pagewanted=1&hp
-Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2900