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.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique