The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has found that Bank of America (BofA) improperly shared information related to a $180 million stock block deal, according to a report by The Wall Street
Journal (WSJ), citing people familiar with the matter.
As per the WSJ report, cited by Reuters, SEBI has also concluded that BofA misled the regulator during the course of its investigation.
In November, SEBI accused Bank of America of improperly sharing information linked to a 2024 sale of shares in asset manager Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC. The market regulator issued a show-cause notice alleging that the bank’s deal team shared price-sensitive information with employees who were not involved in executing the block deal, the WSJ report cited by Reuters said.
News18 said it could not independently verify the report.
False statements
SEBI has further accused the bank of providing false statements to investigators after queries were raised about the alleged information leak. The regulator also said Bank of America failed to put in place adequate safeguards to prevent confidential information related to capital markets transactions from being disclosed, the report added.
The Wall Street Journal had first reported in 2024 on a whistleblower complaint alleging the leak. At the time, a Bank of America spokesperson told media outlets, including Reuters, that the bank had found no evidence to support the allegations.
Bank of America, which began operations in India in 1964, provides investment banking services to corporates with revenues exceeding $2 billion, financial institutions, and government entities, according to its website.
Sharing non-public information ahead of an announcement can enable certain investors to profit from anticipated price movements. Such practices are illegal in India, as they are in several other markets.
After initially informing SEBI that its block trade processes were compliant, Bank of America later corrected its submissions following an internal investigation, the WSJ reported. The bank subsequently handed over records indicating that individuals outside the deal team had communicated with investors about the transaction, the report said.
The allegations related to the $180 million block deal triggered a series of senior-level resignations and heightened scrutiny in 2024. According to a Bloomberg report last year, SEBI had sought information from Bank of America on the matter as early as September.
The whistleblower complaint alleged that merchant bankers shared material non-public information (MNPI) with clients ahead of launching certain block deals in the market, prompting Bank of America to initiate its own internal probe, according to the WSJ report.
