BofA Fires Back at Cuomo

Bank of America Corp. (BofA) said New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo wrongfully claimed that the bank is blocking information, according to news reports.

Cuomo’s office sent a letter Monday charging that BofA was not cooperating in providing information as part of an ongoing investigation into possible disclosure violations during the bank’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch. Cuomo requested more information by next week (see “NYAG Back to Hounding BofA”).

In a written response yesterday to Cuomo’s letter, BofA said the allegations were “spurious and false,” Reuters reported. The bank said it produced hundreds of thousands of documents responding to the attorney’s request for information. BofA also rejected Cuomo’s claims that the bank misused attorney-client privilege claims.

“Because Bank of America did not violate the law, it has not offered reliance on legal advice as a defense,” the letter said, according to the news report. “No one has sought to take unfair advantage of the assertion of the privilege by hiding information from your Office or anyone else.”

«