Bank of America Corp. and former Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis denied civil fraud charges brought by New York’s attorney general over the bank’s takeover of Merrill Lynch & Co. amid the 2008 financial crisis.

In court papers filed Wednesday, Lewis said the state’s prosecutor Andrew Cuomo had no basis in his lawsuit to allege a conspiracy to mislead the public and shareholders about Merrill’s deteriorating finances and Bank of America’s desire for government assistance. Get the full story »