Bank of America Corp. Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis and top federal officials will be asked to testify under oath by a U.S. House panel next month, as congressional investigators probe claims the bank was pressured by the government into completing its deal with Merrill Lynch & Co., a person familiar with the investigation said Wednesday.
The decision to hold a hearing before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform comes after investigators spent the last week reviewing documents at the Federal Reserve. The person familiar with the investigation said the review of documents, notes from phone conversations involving Federal Reserve officials and other information suggest "there's fire there."
At issue is February testimony by Mr. Lewis to New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo suggesting he felt pressured by former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to complete the deal after attempting to pull out when he learned of Merrill's ballooning losses. Mr. Lewis also suggested he was urged not to publicly disclose any issues with Merrill's finances.
Representatives for the Federal Reserve, the Treasury Department and Bank of America didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
The probe could touch a number of prominent government officials. In addition to Messrs. Paulson and Bernanke, top lieutenants for each could face scrutiny as part of the investigation, according to the person familiar with the investigation.
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