Report: Merrill, BofA had bonus agreement
ABC News is reporting that Bank of America Corp. and Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. had an agreement under which Merrill could award up to $5.8 billion in 2008 bonuses.
ABC News is reporting that Bank of America Corp. and Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. had an agreement under which Merrill could award up to $5.8 billion in 2008 bonuses (http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/WallStreet/story?id=6959962&page=1?ref=fp9).
Merrill ended up paying out $3.6 billion in bonuses prior to the close of its merger with BofA on Jan. 1.
The accelerated payments were controversial and became the subject of an investigation by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.
ABC, citing two unnamed sources, said that the agreement stated that Merrill would determine the amount of the bonuses, “in consultation with [BofA].”
The bonuses were set following a conversation between John Thain, former Merrill chief executive, and Steele Alphin, a top aide to BofA chief executive Kenneth Lewis, ABC reported.
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