Judge Denies Bid To Keep Merrill Bonus Data Confidential
18 Marzo 2009 - 3:00PM
Noticias Dow Jones
A New York state judge on Wednesday rejected a bid by Bank of
America Corp. (BAC) to keep details confidential about individuals
who received bonuses at Merrill Lynch & Co. on the eve of its
merger with the Charlotte, N.C., bank last year.
In an order Wednesday, New York State Supreme Court Justice
Bernard J. Fried in Manhattan denied a motion by Bank of America to
intervene in the matter.
The bank had asked the judge to prevent New York Attorney
General Andrew Cuomo from publicly releasing the names of
individuals who received bonuses and how much they made.
Cuomo's office is probing disclosures related to the timing and
nature of more than $3.6 billion in bonus payments made shortly
before Bank of America's merger with Merrill Lynch closed last
year.
Bank of America has claimed publicly releasing details about who
received bonuses and how much the awards were would cause it harm
and put it at a competitive disadvantage. The bank has claimed the
information was proprietary data and some employees might leave
because of privacy or security concerns if the list were made
public.
The bank also wanted the confidentiality order, in part, to
apply to testimony given by John A. Thain, Merrill Lynch's former
chief executive. A temporary confidentiality order on Thain's
testimony had been in place until the judge made his ruling.
Thain was forced out in January in the wake of his handling of
the investment bank's fourth-quarter loss. In a recent regulatory
filing, Merrill Lynch reported a fourth-quarter loss of $15.84
billion, $500 million more than prior estimates.
-By Chad Bray, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-227-2017;
chad.bray@dowjones.com
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