The Federal Reserve is fighting Bank of America (BAC) shareholders who want more information on the role Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke played in orchestrating BofA’s 2008 acquisition of the struggling Merrill Lynch, according to The Wall Street Journal. 

The WSJ said Tuesday the Fed is pushing back against a subpoena from lawyers who want Bernanke to testify about conversations he had with BofA executives prior to the Merrill Lynch acquisition. It’s not the first time those conversations have surfaced in ongoing shareholder litigation.

A previous deposition former Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis, with the New York attorney general’s office, could also play a major role. Lewis said during the deposition two years ago that he made note of Merrill’s losses before the merger, but he suggested Fed and Treasury officials were not keen on Bank of America backing out of the transaction.

Bank of America considered filing a claim to end the merger with Merrill Lynch, Lewis said, after new losses at the financial advisory firm became apparent.

— Kerri Panchuk