Bank of America's Ken Lewis on Thursday testified at a U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing to examine the government's role in the bank's acquisition of Merrill Lynch.

Lewis told lawmakers it was hard to find the exact right word to describe whether the Fed or Treasury Department officials pressured the bank to complete the Merrill deal amid mounting losses. It's best just to describe it and let people come to (their own) conclusions.

Lewis also said BofA received weekly reports on Merrill's deteriorating condition afte agreeing to buy it and saw increased projections of losses in December based on Merrill's November losses.