Panel Postpones B of A-Merrill Hearing

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee postponed a hearing scheduled for Thursday that would scrutinize Bank of America Corp.'s acquisition of Merrill Lynch.

The postponement gives investigators more time to study documents B of A has turned over to the committee over the past week. Many of those documents indicate that officials at B of A were aware of mounting losses at Merrill before shareholders voted to approve a deal.

Executives of the Charlotte bank have previously argued they needed government assistance because they were caught off guard by the size of Merrill's losses.

The House committee said its hearing, which is slated to include testimony from Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair, could be rescheduled as early as next week.

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