Bank of America Says Bonus Disclosure Will Harm It (Update1)

[babylonsister]

Bank of America Says Bonus Disclosure Will Harm It (Update1)

By Karen Freifeld


March 5 (Bloomberg) -- Bank of America Corp. will suffer “grave and irreparable harm” if Merrill Lynch & Co. employees paid $3.6 billion in bonuses just before the firm’s acquisition by the bank are publicly identified, its lawyers said.

Bank of America today filed documents in state court in Manhattan to intervene in a case brought by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to compel former Merrill Chief Executive Officer John Thain to testify about the bonus recipients.

“Neither the individual names nor the job titles bear any reasonable or relevant relationship” to Cuomo’s investigation, the firms argued in the documents. “Nor is there a reasonable or relevant reason to disclose such information to the general public.”

The information Cuomo seeks would provide a “road map” revealing which business lines the banks believe to be most valuable and enable competitors to poach the bank’s top talent, Bank of America argued in the court filing. Disclosure of the information would also cause “internal dissension and consternation,” pose security risks for the exposed bankers and their families, and cause employees to leave, according to the filings.

Yesterday, Cuomo subpoenaed seven people who received bonuses at Merrill Lynch & Co., said a person familiar with the matter. Thain and Bank of America CEO Kenneth D. Lewis previously testified in Cuomo’s office about the bonuses awarded before the Jan. 1 merger.

more...

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aDJsoWxnk740&refer=worldwide

[MannyGoldstein]

1. My Heart Bleeds For The Poor Dears

They really are insane, aren't they?

[xchrom]

2. that's one weird notion of what a harm is. nt

[marmar]

3. I think it's about time I bid BOa adieu......

A credit union is sounding better and better these days.

[aquart]

4. Wow. They must have been very very bad indeed.

Now why would an honestly-earned bonus cause harm, let alone irreparable harm? Hmmmmm?

[HaydukesWrench]

5. I bet BoA paid some Merril people in order to sell cheaper than they had to

and making their names public would out the players in the Quid Pro Quo game

Fuck em' let the shareholders know who sold them out

[GoesTo11]

6. Screw 'em

Irreparable harm because these rat bastards will be discredited as the thieves they are? Good. I don't want BoA to retain the biggest rainmakers - all that rain was really piss on our heads. Time to nationalize them and just run it to manage money and not do evil.

[salguine]

7. So? Harm it! Harm it!

[jimshoes]

8. Cry me a fucking river

3.6 billion in bonuses. Fuck you. Just fuck you.

[fumsm]

9. These fuckers never stop

Fuck em!, Take the money back and throw their asses in jail.