BANK OF AMERICA ACCUSED OF HIDING BAD NEWS ON MERRILL BEFORE BUYOUT
Top executives at Bank of America did not tell shareholders just prior to a 2008 vcte on its purchase of Merrill Lynch & Co that losses were mounting and expected to weigh down earnings for years, papers filed in private shareholder litigation show.
But the bank's former Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis said in their own court papers that they should not be liable to shareholders who claimed to have lacked information they needed to vote on the once $50 billion merger.
Lewis also stated he had been advised by the bank's law firm and chief financial officer that no disclosure was necessary.
Merrill's fourth-quarter loss at the time of the vote was expected to be $9 billion, according to court papers, and ultimately reached $15.84 billion.
It forced Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America to get a second $20 billion taxpayer bailout, and fueled a 93% drop in its share price over six months. The share price remains 80% below its level prior to the merger.
-REUTERS, 06/04/12
Market Data 
Markets 
AI
