Bank of America to Fork Over Docs

In a dramatic reversal, Bank of America will hand over documents discussing the legal advice it received on its purchase of Merrill Lynch, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday, citing people familiar with the situation.

The bank had long resisted turning over the documents, saying attorney-client privilege covered the contents of the documents.

The bank’s change of heart is designed to help settle various investigations in the bank’s acquisition of the brokerage firm.

BofA’s board voted to waive privilege at its meeting October 9, the newspaper reported, adding that the bank informed New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo of its decision Monday.

BofA, America’s largest bank, is expected to turn over a substantial number of emails, memos, and other documents between the bank and its outside law firms to regulators investigating the Merrill Lynch purchase.

BofA CEO Ken Lewis and other executives have told investigators in recent months that they depended on their attorneys’ advice in deciding what disclosures to make to shareholders as they prepared to vote on the Merrill acquisition.

The string of court problems, including Cuomo's probe and an SEC lawsuit have dogged bank officials since the Merrill takeover. Lewis lost his seat as chairman of the bank's board in a spring shareholder revolt and is stepping down as CEO at the end of the year.