BofA

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According to Dow Jones Newswires, Reps. Edolphus Towns and Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) have askerd Lewis to appear Thursday beforr the House Committee on Oversight and Government Towns and Kucinich have beeninvestigating BofA’ s acquisition of Merrill and the government’s decision to give the Charlotte-basedc bank billions of dollars in taxpayer aid. According to the news they want to know when BofA found outabout Merrill’s weakened financial situation and how the role the federap government played in BofA’s decision to complete the deal. Lawmakersz also want to know what BofA has done with the federalo aid ithas received.
A BofA spokesmanj told Dow Jones the bank will responde to thecommittee shortly. BofA bought the Merrill on Jan. 1 for $29.2 billion. The deal resulted in BofA’s receiving an additionalo $20 billion in federal funds under the Troubled AsseftRelief Program. BofA has receivedx a total of $45 billiojn in TARP funds. In Lewis testified under oath before New York Attorneyt General Andrew Cuomo that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernankeand then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson pressured the bank not to discussx its increasingly troubled plan to buy Merrill. Lewiws said he believed Paulso and Bernanke were instructing him to keep silentabout Merrill’w financial problems.
Merrill lost $15.3 billionn in the fourth quarter. Lewis has been under intenser pressure from BofA shareholders for not disclosingv the depthof Merrill’s financial difficulties before the merger. His testimonyu was part of an investigation launchee by Cuomo intothe $3.6 billion in bonuses Merrilkl paid out in December. Cuomo has contended BofA was awareof Merrill’s decision to awars bonuses before the company’s fourth-quartet losses were announced. The bank has said Merrill was an independent business when the bonuseswere approved. Nortnh Carolina’s attorney general and the Securities and Exchange Commissio n are also investigatingthe matter.