New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and U.S. Representative Barney Frank demanded Bank of America Corp. immediately disclose 2008 bonus data for all Merrill Lynch & Co. and Bank of America employees who received $1 million or more.
Cuomo and Frank, a Democrat from Massachusetts who’s chairman of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, made their demand in a March 9 letter to Bank of America chairman Kenneth D. Lewis that said his refusal to reveal compensation information “fuels distrust and cynicism.”
Cuomo has been examining executive pay at banks that received money from the U.S. Treasury’s Troubled Asset Relief Program. Merrill and Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America have received about $45 billion. Bank of America bought Merrill on Jan. 1. The letter is the latest salvo in Cuomo’s battle with Lewis over the individualized bonus data. In the letter, Cuomo and Frank say Merrill’s $3.6 billion in bonuses and Bank of America’s $3.3 billion should be made public.
“Taxpayers who are footing the bill obviously demand accountability and want to know who received these funds and why,” the letter said.
Scott Silvestri, a spokesman for Bank of America, had no immediate comment about the latest letter.
In a court filing last week, Bank of America said it would suffer “grave and irreparable harm” if the Merrill employees and their bonuses were publicly identified.
