Judge Jed Rakoff kept Bank of America (BAC Bank of America news) and the SEC antsy while he mulled their latest settlement agreement. There was ample reason to think that he would reject it, as he did the original agreement, but in a minor surprise, he went ahead and okayed it, albeit with some harsh words.

He called the deal "half-baked justice at best." But he could come to no definitive conclusion on the issue of whether Bank of America should have disclosed (disclosure news) the massive losses and gargantuan bonuses at Merrill Lynch before a shareholder vote.

According to the New York Times, he felt the "evidence showed that the bank failed to adequately disclose the bonuses and the losses, but he said it was unclear if the lack of disclosure resulted from negligence or ill-intent." So for those who are convinced then-CEO Ken Lewis and his aide bamboozled shareholders (shareholder news), the only hope now is New York State AG Andrew Cuomo, who certainly believes that wrong-doing occurred. The conflicting narratives by Cuomo and the SEC were acknowledged, but Judge Rakoff said he wasn't agreeing with one or the other. 

For more:
- here's the article

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