NEW YORK, July 1 (Reuters) - A group of public pension
funds, including state funds in Ohio and Texas, will lead
investor lawsuits against Bank of America Corp
The investors say the bank misled them over the state of Merrill's health ahead of the deal closing on Jan. 1, even as it was becoming clear that losses were mounting. Merrill eventually suffered a $15.84 billion fourth-quarter loss.
The group named lead plaintiff includes the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System and the Teachers Retirement System of Texas, according to a U.S. District Court ruling in Manhattan on Tuesday.
The lead plaintiff in a securities class-action lawsuit helps direct the litigation, and is typically a large shareholder who represents the other shareholder plaintiffs.
The group of funds beat competition from two of the three largest U.S. public pension funds, the California Public Employees' Retirement System and the California State Teachers' Retirement System.
The group also beat the Central States, Southeast and Southwest Areas Pension Fund and the West Virginia Investment Management Board to lead plaintiff status.
A spokeswoman for Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray did not immediately comment.
Shirley Norton, a spokeswoman for Bank of America, did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
Bank of America, which has received $45 billion in government funds, has recently sold assets and issued stock to meet a $33.9 billion capital cushion set by the government, after it completed a "stress test" of the bank's ability to weather a prolonged recession.
The case is Sklar v. Bank of America Corp, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (Manhattan), No. 09-00580.
(Reporting by Elinor Comlay; Editing by Richard Chang)