BofA pays $33M SEC fine for misleading investors

WASHINGTON -- Bank of America has agreed to pay a $33 million penalty to settle government charges that it misled investors about Merrill Lynch's plans to pay bonuses to its employees.

In seeking approval to buy Merrill, Bank of America told its shareholders that Merrill agreed not to pay year-end bonuses without Bank of America's consent. But the Securities and Exchange Commission says Bank of America had authorized New York-based Merrill to pay $5.8 billion in bonuses.

That rendered a statement Bank of America mailed to 283,000 shareholders of both companies about the Merrill deal "materially false and misleading," the SEC said.

Bank of America agreed to pay $33 million to settle the charges without admitting or denying the allegations. The settlement is subject to court approval.

"Bank of America believes that the settlement ... represents a constructive conclusion to this issue," company spokesman Scott Silvestri said.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who referred the case to the SEC in April, said his investigation is continuing. The SEC said its probe also is ongoing.

Bank of America, along with Citigroup and insurance giant American International Group, is among the largest recipients of government aid. It has received $45 billion from the federal $700 billion bank rescue program.

Charlotte-based Bank of America agreed to purchase Merrill in a deal that was hastily arranged Sept. 13-14, 2008, the same weekend that Lehman Brothers collapsed. Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis and Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain announced the deal Sept. 15.

The acquisition came as Lehman's collapse caused panic in the financial markets and investment banks such as Merrill faced billions of losses on soured mortgage investments.

Merrill ended up paying $3.6 billion in bonuses in 2008, the SEC said, even though it lost $27.6 billion that year, a record for the firm.

Bank of America included a copy of the merger agreement with the proxy statement that it mailed to shareholders of both firms in November. That agreement said Merrill would not pay discretionary bonuses prior to the deal's closing, the SEC said.