The New York Attorney General’s (NYAG) office said on Thursday it filed civil charges against Bank of America (BofA) and its former CEO Ken Lewis, saying the bank misled investors about Merrill Lynch before it acquired the Wall Street bank early last year.
Civil charges were also being filed against Joe Price, the bank’s former chief financial officer.
At the same time Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s office was filing its charges, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reached a settlement to resolve separate federal charges it brought against the bank over similar issues. It is the second time the SEC and BofA have tried to settle the case.
Bank of America has been accused of failing to properly disclose losses at Merrill and bonuses paid to investment bank employees before the deal closed. Cuomo called Bank of America’s actions “egregious and reprehensible” in deceiving not only shareholders, but also the federal government.
The bank received an additional US$20 billion in government bailout funds in January last year to help offset losses it absorbed as part of the Merrill Lynch acquisition. In December, Bank of America repaid the US$20 billion, plus the initial US$25 billion it received in government bailout money.
Lewis stepped down as CEO on Dec. 31 after almost a year of strife that followed the bank’s purchase of Merrill Lynch. Price became head of the bank’s consumer banking division, taking over for Brian Moynihan, who succeeded Lewis as CEO on Jan. 1. Moynihan is not under investigation.
“We are disappointed and find it regrettable that the NYAG has chosen to file these charges, which we believe are totally without merit,” Bank of America spokesman Robert Stickler said.
The bank agreed to pay US$150 million to shareholders to settle the SEC charges.
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
EXTENDED RANGE: Hsiung Sheng missiles, 100 of which might be deployed by the end of the year, could reach Chinese command posts and airport runways, a source said A NT$16.9 billion (US$534.93 million) project to upgrade the military’s missile defense systems would be completed this year, allowing the deployment of at least 100 long-range Hsiung Sheng missiles and providing more deterrence against China, military sources said on Saturday. Hsiung Sheng missiles are an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) surface-to-surface cruise missile, and are believed to have a range of up to 1,200km, which would allow them to hit targets well inside China. They went into mass production in 2022, the sources said. The project is part of a special budget for the Ministry of National Defense aimed at
READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a