New York, September 18: U.S. authorities are conducting a criminal probe into Bank of America Corp’s purchase of Merrill Lynch, the Charlotte Observer reported on Friday.
The investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation and has been underway for six months, the newspaper said.
The scope and potential outcome of the probe are unknown, it said.
Scott Silvestri, a Bank of America spokesman, declined to confirm the newspaper report. However, he told Reuters the bank has provided thousands of documents to various government entities and there was “no basis for charges against the company or individuals on the management team.”
In recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the bank disclosed that it was cooperating with various investigations from “governmental authorities” but gave no specifics.
A spokeswoman for the Justice Department declined to comment. An FBI spokeswoman declined comment and would neither confirm nor deny that investigation was underway.
A federal criminal probe would be a new wrinkle in a year-long wave of legal problems for the largest U.S. bank, which is based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Bank of America has been subject to a wave of civil litigation since it purchased Merrill Lynch on January 1.
The SEC and the attorneys general of New York and North Carolina are investigating whether Bank of America failed to disclose to shareholders Merrill Lynch’s operating losses and bonus payments before the merger was approved.
Bank of America shares were up 9 cents at $17.70 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
—Agencies