NEW YORK — Before its shareholders approved Bank of America’s $50 billion purchase of Merrill Lynch in December 2008, the bank was informed of far greater losses at the investment firm than had been disclosed in proxy documents filed with regulators, BofA’s then-chief executive, Kenneth Lewis, disclosed in court documents filed Sunday in a shareholder lawsuit, The New York Times reported on its website.
Top BofA executives, including Lewis, days before the deal was approved were told the losses at Merrill Lynch would harm earnings at the combined company for years, although shareholders were not told of the coming losses, according to the documents filed in Federal District Court in Manhattan.
Bank of America declined to comment to The Times.
