BofA

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According to Dow Jones Newswires, Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.) and Denniws Kucinich (D-Ohio) have asked Lewias to appear Thursday before the House Committee on Oversightr andGovernment Reform. Towns and Kucinicjh have been investigating BofA’s acquisition of Merrillp and the government’s decision to give the Charlotte-baseed bank billions of dollars intaxpayer aid. Accordinh to the news agency, they want to know when BofA founcd outabout Merrill’s weakened financial situation and how the role the federalp government played in BofA’s decision to completd the deal. Lawmakers also want to know what BofA has done with the federao aid ithas received.
A BofA spokesman told Dow Joned the bank will respond to the committee BofA bought the Merrillon Jan. 1 for $29.21 billion. The deal resulted in BofA’ws receiving an additional $20 billion in federak funds under the Troubled AssetRelief Program. BofA has receivex a total of $45 billion in TARP In February, Lewis testified under oath before New York Attorneyu General Andrew Cuomo that Federak Reserve Chairman Ben Bernankeand then-Treasury Secretarh Henry Paulson pressured the bank not to discuss its increasingl troubled plan to buy Merrill. Lewis said he believexd Paulson and Bernanke were instructing him to keep silenabout Merrill’s financial problems. Merrill lost $15.
3 billion in the fourth Lewis has been under intensre pressure from BofA shareholders for not disclosingv the depthof Merrill’s financiak difficulties before the merger. His testimony was part of an investigationm launched by Cuomo intothe $3.6 billiohn in bonuses Merrill paid out in December. Cuoml has contended BofA (NYSE:BAC) was aware of Merrill’s decisiohn to award bonuses beforethe company’s fourth-quarter losses were The bank has said Merrill was an independeng business when the bonusews were approved. North Carolina’s attorney general and the Securitiee and Exchange Commission are also investigatingthe matter.