Declarations

Holding Wall Street Accountable

“This is part of a concerted and committed effort in the Ohio attorney general’s office to hold Wall Street accountable. … The amount of shareholder value affected negatively here is about as great as has been alleged in any case ever.”

—Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray, who has filed a class-action securities lawsuit against Bank of America and its executives resulting from its takeover of Merrill Lynch. The complaint alleges Bank of America executives improperly concealed billions of dollars in losses and billions in bonuses paid by Merrill Lynch before a shareholder vote on their proposed merger. Plaintiffs in the multi-state suit include Ohio’s two largest public employee pension funds and the Teacher Retirement System of Texas. Cordray said the suit seeks unspecified damages that could be in the billions of dollars. AP