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Bank of America's SEC Settlement Approved

Published: Feb 22, 2010

 Finance       
A federal judge reluctantly approved BofA's $150 million settlement with the SEC over that big Merrill Lynch mess BofA had been embroiled in for the past year regarding its keeping secret Merrill's monstrous losses and its bankers' big bonuses. The judge, as evidenced by his written judgment, was none too pleased to have to give his stamp on the case, calling the settlement "half-baked justice at best" and its amount "paltry." The judge acknowledged that BofA kept the losses and bonuses to itself, but also had to acknowledge that it was unclear if keeping the secret was an act of negligence or had any ill-intent behind it.

The judgment is a huge win for BofA, which can now get back to business without worrying about having to sell the farm (a huge subsidiary or two) to pay for a huge fine/settlement that would have likely resulted had a judgment of negligence come in.

Look for BofA to ramp up its executive hiring in the coming month, as bankers will now feel a whole lot safer toting around Bank of America Merrill Lynch cards now that the bank has been freed.

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