Afternoon:
15°c
Ruling soon in row over Merrill bonuses
16.03.09
A US judge will rule this week on the legality and confidentiality of £2.5 billion of bonuses paid to about 200 executives at Merrill Lynch just days before it was rescued by Bank of America.
New York courts have been questioning seven top Merrill rainmakers on the issue including London-based Andrea Orcel, who is said to have received £25 million.
The judge overseeing the hearing said he will make a written decision this week after hearing arguments from New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.
At issue is the $3.6 billion (£2.6 billion) of bonuses paid that are said to have been fast-tracked "secretly and prematurely" ahead of the Bank of America takeover which followed $27 billion of losses at Merrill.
