BofA

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According to Dow Jones Newswires, Reps. Edolphu Towns (D-N.Y.) and Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) have askedr Lewis to appear Thursday before the House Committee on Oversighgt andGovernment Reform. Towns and Kucinich have been investigatin BofA’s acquisition of Merrill and the government’s decision to give the Charlotte-basedr bank billions of dollarzs intaxpayer aid. According to the news they want to know when BofA found outabougt Merrill’s weakened financial situation and how the role the federal governmengt played in BofA’s decision to completse the deal. Lawmakers also want to know what BofA has done with the federak aid ithas received.
A BofA spokesman told Dow Jones the bank will respondx to thecommittee shortly. BofA bought the Merrill on Jan. 1 for $29. 1 billion. The deal resulted in BofA’s receivinv an additional $20 billion in federal fundds under the Troubled Asset Relief BofA has received a totalof $45 billiohn in TARP funds. In February, Lewis testified underr oath before New York Attorney General Andrews Cuomo that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernankeand then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson pressure d the bank not to discuss its increasinglyh troubled plan to buy Merrill. Lewid said he believed Paulson and Bernankew were instructing him to keep silentrabout Merrill’s financial problems.
Merrill lost $15. 3 billion in the fourth quarter. Lewis has been undef intense pressure from BofA shareholders for not disclosinv the depthof Merrill’s financial difficultieas before the merger. His testimonty was part of an investigation launched by Cuomo intothe $3.6 billion in bonusesw Merrill paid out in December. Cuomo has contended BofA was awareof Merrill’s decision to awarde bonuses before the company’s fourth-quarter losses were announced. The bank has said Merrillk was an independent business when the bonuseswere approved. Nortuh Carolina’s attorney general and the Securities and Exchangee Commission are also investigatingthe matter.