Bank of America Set to Reveal Merrill Advice

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Source: NY Times

In a stunning reversal, Bank of America’s board has voted to reveal the legal advice that the bank received late last year about its merger with Merrill Lynch, according to three people briefed on the matter.

After six months of digging in its heels, the bank is expected to provide legal documents that could shed light on how its lawyers advised executives to deal with the disclosure of key information about losses and bonuses at Merrill Lynch to the bank’s shareholders.

With a stroke of a pen, the bank’s decision will remove a stumbling block in a wide range of cases. The documents may exonerate bank executives, like its retiring chief, Kenneth D. Lewis, or may provide the evidence that some investigators are seeking to lay blame at individuals’ feet.

The bank has refused to allow its attorneys to answer questions about many aspects of the deal, even as pressure to do so surged from many corners. Some of the pressure came from lawmakers in Congress and regulators who are deciding whether to allow Bank of America to return part of the $45 billion it received in bailout funds — an outcome the bank has been urgently pursuing.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/13/business/13legal.html?hp

[No Elephants]

1. Why am I suspicious of this so-called "stunning reversal?" K & R

[Ruby the Liberal]

2. They just finished the SQL updates to the Exchange server?

*wink wink*