The price being paid by Bank of America for its missteps during the financial crisis rose sharply on Friday as the bank announced a $2.43 billion deal to settle accusations that it misled investors about the acquisition of Merrill Lynch, the New York Times DealBook blog reported on Friday. Shareholders, led by pension funds, including those in Ohio and the Netherlands, had accused the bank of providing false and misleading statements about the health of the Wall Street firm, which, unknown to the public, was racking up huge losses in late 2008 amid turmoil in the markets. Bank of America denied the allegations, but said on Friday that it had agreed to settle in order to put the case behind it. The settlement, however, may undermine a battle between the New York attorney general and the bank. In 2010, Andrew M. Cuomo, New York's attorney general at the time, sued Kenneth D. Lewis, the bank's former chief executive, and Bank of America, contending that the bank and its executives hid from shareholders billions of dollars in losses at Merrill, later causing Bank of America to need a bailout from the government.
