Bank of America Corp. shareholders are challenging the company's acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co. in lawsuits filed in New York and Georgia, alleging they weren't told the truth about Merrill's financial condition.
A case filed Thursday in the Southern District of New York lists employee retirement funds in Fort Worth, Texas, and Miami as plaintiffs. The case seeks class-action status on behalf of Bank of America shareholders who were eligible to vote for the deal in December and those who purchased shares between Jan. 2 and Jan. 20.
Court documents said there are nearly 260,000 shareholders of common stock and 30 holders of class B shares.
The company, its chief executive Kenneth Lewis and former Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain are listed as defendants.
The case alleges that proxy statements distributed before the acquisition did not accurately disclose Merrill's financial condition and the risks, and that Bank of America had failed to conduct adequate research into the deal. It also says Bank of America directors didn't have a reasonable basis for recommending the deal.
The lawsuit alleges that a Jan. 1 press release about the acquisition was false and misleading in that it failed to reveal that Merrill Lynch's financial condition was so bad that Bank of America had considered withdrawing from the deal before closing. It says Bank of America proceeded only because the federal government promised to help absorb the losses through a purchase of additional Bank of America securities, which dilutes shareholder value.
Bank of America spokeswoman Shirley Norton said the company had not yet been served and since executives haven't seen the lawsuits, they couldn't comment

NEW DELHI: The World Bank has appointed Roberto Zagha as the new country director for India, it was announced on Friday.
"Zagha arrived here Friday for a one-week visit, where he will meet with the Indian officials," World Bank said in a statement. Zagha, a Brazilian national, started in his new position January 1, replacing Isabel Guerrero, who is now the World Bank's vice-president for the South Asia region. Zagha was previously senior advisor to the bank's vice-president in the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Unit. "In his new position as country director for India, Zagha's priorities will be to shape the bank's support to India in the context of the recent global financial turbulence," the statement said. Zagha will provide leadership to the teams formulating and delivering the bank's strategy for India. India was the largest International Development Association (IDA) borrower from the bank in 2008. The Bank's $15.1 billion-portfolio in the country covers 61 active investment projects.

2008 WORLD'S BEST BANKS

As the global economy continues to be challenged by rising interest rates and oil prices, banks are under increasing pressure to provide more sophisticated levels of service spanning multiple markets for less. The need to comply with a raft of regulations including Basel II, Sarbanes-Oxley, the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) and Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) is also placing additional cost pressures on banks' traditional lines of business, forcing them to reinvent the way they deliver services to their consumer, corporate and banking customers. Increasingly, survival is not just about being the largest, most profitable or most well-capitalized bank. Geographical diversification, product innovation, depth and breadth and a well-diversified earnings base are all essential ingredients for withstanding the economic shocks of high interest rates, customer defaults on loans and reduced consumer and corporate appetite for borrowing. Only those banks with the capital to invest in technology and a global footprint, combined with local market knowledge and a well-trained staff that are able to anticipate customers' needs, are likely to remain dominant players for years to come.

Taking these factors into consideration, Global Finances editorial team has identified the best banks in 109 countries. In selecting these top banks, we considered factors that range from the objective to the informed subjective. Objective criteria included growth in assets, profitability, geographic reach, strategic relationships, new business development and product innovation. Subjective criteria included the opinions of equity and credit-rating analysts, banking consultants and others in the industry. The winners may not be the largest or the oldest or the most diversified in a given country or sector but, rather, the best-the bank with which corporations, consumers and financial institutions around the world are most likely to want to do business. Within this listing of the World's Best Banks we have included our April 2006 list of the Best Developed Market Banks and our May 2006 list of the Best Emerging Market Banks.

Contributors: Joachim Bamrud, Anita Hawser, Laurence Neville and Gordon Platt
BEST GLOBAL BANKS
BEST CORPORATE BANK
Citigroup Corporate & Investment Bank
The corporate and investment banking division of Citigroup boasts one ot the largest geographical footprints, encompassing approximately 100 countries. It provides coinpanies and financial institutions with a range ot services from cash management, treasury and FX to commercial cards, liquidity, investment solutions and trade. The bank has also invested heavily in Web-enabled solutions that provide companies with greater visibility and transparency into their payables and receivables processes, as well as real-time information that enables them to better manage their working capital and liquidity needs. The corporate and investment banking division is one of the bank's most profitable, reporting its second-highest revenues ever, up by 31% to $6.7 billion in the second quarter of this year.
Robert Oruskin, president and CEO
www. citigroupcib.com
BEST CONSUMER BANK
HSBC
Despite some volatility in the consumer loans sector, HSBC's consumer banking business is diversified enough to withstand any losses in that sector. In the half year to June 30,2006, the profit before tax of HSBC's personal financial services division increased by 47.2% to $5.9 billion. HSBC: Holdings Group posted a pre-tax profit of $12.5 billion, an increase of 18% on the previous year. The bank s strong and diversified earnings base and its push into the "lower risk near-prime segment consumer finance business" in the United States saw Fitch Ratings raise its rating to positive from stable. "HSBC's recent interim results announcement demonstrated the strength of its global franchises and earnings power," says James Longsdon.senior director in Fitch's financial institutions team in London. "While its emerging markets exposure means it will inevitably be affected by localized or regional shocks, the group is diversified, prudently managed, well-capitalized and has a long track record ot resilience to such events," he adds.
Stephen Green, group CEO
www.hsbc.com

ALL BANKS

[edit] A
Afghanistan – Da Afghanistan Bank (د افغانستان بانک)
Albania – Bank of Albania (Banka e Shqipërisë)
Algeria – Bank of Algeria (بنك الجزائر)
Angola – Central Bank of Angola (Banco Nacional de Angola)
Anguilla – see: Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States
Antigua and Barbuda – see: Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States
Argentina – Central Bank of Argentina (Banco Central de la República Argentina)
Armenia – Central Bank of Armenia (Հայաստանի Կենտրոնական Բանկ, Hayastani Kentronakan Bank)
Aruba – Central Bank of Aruba (Centrale Bank van Aruba)[1]
Australia – Reserve Bank of Australia
Austria – see: European Union
Azerbaijan – National Bank of Azerbaijan (Azərbaycan Milli Bankı)

[edit] B
Bahamas – Central Bank of The Bahamas
Bahrain – Central Bank of Bahrain
Bangladesh – Bangladesh Bank
Barbados – Central Bank of Barbados
Belarus – National Bank of the Republic of Belarus (Национальный банк Республики Беларусь)
Belgium – see: European Union
Belize – Central Bank of Belize
Benin – see: West African Economic and Monetary Union
Bermuda – Bermuda Monetary Authority
Bhutan – Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan
Bolivia – Central Bank of Bolivia (Banco Central de Bolivia)
Bosnia and Herzegovina – Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Centralna Banka Bosne i Hercegovine)
Botswana – Bank of Botswana
Brazil – Central Bank of Brazil (Banco Central do Brasil)
Brunei – Brunei Currency and Monetary Board
Bulgaria – see: European Union
Burkina Faso – see: West African Economic and Monetary Union
Burundi – Bank of the Republic of Burundi (Banque de la République du Burundi)

[edit] C
Cambodia – National Bank of Cambodia
Cameroon – see: Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa
Canada – Bank of Canada (Banque du Canada)
Cape Verde – Bank of Cape Verde (Banco de Cabo Verde)
Cayman Islands – Cayman Islands Monetary Authority
Central African Republic – see: Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa
CFP franc – Overseas Issuing Institute (Institut d'émission d'Outre-Mer)
French Polynesia
New Caledonia
Wallis and Futuna
Chad – see: Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa
Chile – Central Bank of Chile (Banco Central de Chile)
China, People's Republic of – People's Bank of China (中国人民银行)
Hong Kong – see: Hong Kong
Macao – see: Macau
China, Republic of (Taiwan) – Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan) (中央銀行)
Colombia – Bank of the Republic (Banco de la República)
Comoros – Central Bank of the Comoros (Banque Centrale des Comores)
Congo, Democratic Republic of – Central Bank of the Congo (Banque Centrale du Congo)
Congo, Republic of – see: Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa
Costa Rica – Central Bank of Costa Rica (Banco Central de Costa Rica)
Cote d'Ivoire – see: West African Economic and Monetary Union
Croatia – Croatian National Bank (Hrvatska narodna banka)
Cuba – Central Bank of Cuba (Banco Central de Cuba)
Cyprus – see: European Union[2]
Czech Republic – see: European Union