Word: banke
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Though many questions remain, here's what is known about Lewis' involvement in the Merrill deal. In a proxy statement Bank of America sent out to investors seeking approval of its acquisition of Merrill Lynch, the bank said that Merrill would not pay year-end bonuses without Bank of America's consent. But according to the SEC, Bank of America had already agreed to allow Merrill to pay $5.8 billion in bonuses. Telling shareholders that Merrill still had to seek approval, and omitting mention that bonuses had been agreed upon, was, according to the SEC, "materially false and misleading...
...Then there are Lewis' direct statements. In February he told a congressional committee that Bank of America had very limited involvement in the $3.6 billion in bonuses that were paid to Merrill bankers just weeks before the Bank of America acquisition closed. "[Merrill] had a separate board, separate compensation committee and we had no authority to tell them what to do," Lewis told the committee. (Read "How to Know When the Economy Is Turning...
...Those conflicting statements could be part of any charges brought by Cuomo, who would also likely look to prove that Bank of America played more of a key role in determining Merrill's year-end pay than its executives have let on. One possible bit of evidence: according to documents drawn up at the time of the acquisition, Merrill Lynch agreed that 40% of the bonuses it paid would be determined "by [Merrill] in consultation with [Bank of America...
...There are other apparent inconsistencies with Lewis' claim that Bank of America had little part in determining Merrill's bonuses. For example, in mid-December Bank of America senior vice president Randall Morrow sent a letter to Merrill's general counsel saying that it was the bank's understanding that the bonuses had been reduced to $3.57 billion. What's more, a former senior Merrill Lynch executive told TIME.com, before the bonuses were actually distributed in late-December a member of Bank of America's human-relations department "went over, line by line" the bonuses that were to be paid...
...surprise fourth quarter losses at Merrill, there are also some indications that Bank of America officials were kept in the loop. A chain of e-mails reviewed by TIME.com shows that Merrill employees were giving Bank of America executives regular updates about the deteriorating profits at the investment bank. In a response to a Dec. 3 e-mail detailing nearly $1 billion in additional Merrill trading losses, Neil Cotty, B of A's chief accounting officer, responded, "BTW ... thank you for this ... they did ask ..." Importantly, none of the e-mails say the information on Merrill's losses was needed...