The Wall Street Journal called the regulators' move "unusual" as the Federal government does not own a stake in the company, and most of the bank's losses have stemmed from the purchase of Merrill, which was advised by regulators. Bank of America needed a $20 billion federal bailout to absorb Merrill. Lewis had indicated that regulators pushed him to keep quiet about Merrill's losses and not to back out of the merger. He told shareholders last month that "as a legal matter, there was no duty" to disclose the bank's talks with the government. The company has also been forced to take caps on executive pay, the paper said, citing people close to the bank. A company spokesman did not immediately respond to a Reuters email seeking comment, sent outside regular business hours.