Word: banking
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...settlement that satisfies the judge, but based on Rakoff's ruling, law professor John Coffee, who teaches a class with Rakoff at Columbia, says it is unlikely the judge would accept a substitute settlement that doesn't name any individual executives. Lewis, as the chief executive of the bank, is an obvious target. The SEC has yet to say whether it plans to pursue charges against Lewis or any other executive at Bank of America...
...Even if Lewis escapes charges in the SEC case, he will still have to dodge New York attorney general Cuomo, who is also reportedly weighing charges against chief financial officer Joe Price over the Merrill bonuses and other issues surrounding the combination of the two banks. Neither Lewis nor Price could be reached for comment, though a Bank of America spokesman recently provided this statement to the Wall Street Journal: "We will continue to cooperate with the Attorney General's office as we maintain that there is no basis for charges against either the company or individual members...
...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...