Bank of America to pay $2.43bn to settle shareholder lawsuit September 28, 2012 - 20:03 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Bank of America Corp agreed on Friday, Sept 28 to pay $2.43 billion to settle a shareholder lawsuit over its 2008 buyout of Merrill Lynch in one of the largest-ever settlements of a securities fraud class action, Reuters reported. The bank said it expects to incur total litigation expenses of about $1.6 billion in the third quarter ending September 30. That expense and a U.K. tax charge are expected to hurt the bank's earnings by about 28 cents per share for the quarter, it said. The pact also calls for the bank to make changes to its corporate governance through January 1, 2015. The lawsuit filed in 2009 contended Bank of America and its officers made false or misleading statements about the financial health of Bank of America and Merrill Lynch before the acquisition, leading the bank's stock price to tumble when the facts were revealed. Bank of America denied the allegations and said it settled to end the long drawn-out litigation. "Resolving this litigation removes uncertainty and risk and is in the best interests of our shareholders," Chief Executive Brian Moynihan said in a statement. The deal, which requires court approval, heads off a trial that had been set to begin before U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel in Manhattan on October 22. The settlement was reached after discussions led by a mediator, former U.S. District Judge Layn Phillips, lawyers for the plaintiffs said in a statement. A hearing has been scheduled to discuss the settlement at 3:30 p.m. EDT (1930 GMT) Friday, according to a courtroom deputy in Castel's chambers. Lead plaintiffs included the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio, the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System and the Teacher Retirement System of Texas. "Not only did we accomplish an excellent financial recovery, but other companies will look at the result here and think twice about not fully disclosing all necessary information to their shareholders," Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine said in a statement. Bank of America is scheduled to report third-quarter results on October 17.   Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion.   Partner news |  Latest news Viva-MTS: Tech solutions to modernize infrastructure of border village  The border village has been the focus of Viva-MTS and the Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Values since 2015.Ucom's fixed network launched in Artashat To mark this occasion, the company has introduced a special offer exclusively for Artashat residents.“By Your Side”: IDBank's new support program for displaced Artsakh citizens IDBank is launching a long-term social support program for forcibly displaced Artsakh residents.The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. |
