Judge Rakoff wants answers as to the rationale behind Bank of America's $33 million settlement with the SEC. He's not getting too much so far, and he's asked for more information to be presented by Sept. 9.

What will the SEC and the bank come up with next? One little wrinkle has emerged in a filing by the SEC this week. According to the Financial Times, the document states that senior Fed and Treasury officials were made aware of the bonuses during discussions in mid-December. At the time, the bank was seeking $20 billion more in aid to grapple with big losses at Merrill Lynch during Q4. Bank of America apparently gave regulators a document with the bonuses listed as a separate line item. It's unclear whether the judge will make hay with this. He might question if this was a reason why the settlement seems to be favorable to the bank. 

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