(wire)
Judge approves BofA/SEC settlement
U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff today approved Bank of America Corp's settlement of $150 million with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over the Merrill Lynch merger.
Rakoff approved the accord, but called the settlement "half-baked justice at best." He noted that it was obvious that Bank of America failed to adequately disclose the scope of Merrill's enormous losses prior to a shareholder vote on the acquisition, and also failed to disclose that it had authorized Merrill to pay as much as $5.8 billion in bonuses.
The settlement ends two separate suits against Bank of America by the SEC, one charging the bank with misleading shareholders about bonus payouts, and the other alleging that the bank misled shareholders about Merrill's losses.
Rakoff approved the accord, but called the settlement "half-baked justice at best." He noted that it was obvious that Bank of America failed to adequately disclose the scope of Merrill's enormous losses prior to a shareholder vote on the acquisition, and also failed to disclose that it had authorized Merrill to pay as much as $5.8 billion in bonuses.
The settlement ends two separate suits against Bank of America by the SEC, one charging the bank with misleading shareholders about bonus payouts, and the other alleging that the bank misled shareholders about Merrill's losses.
