Former Bank of America Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis said he was briefed twice on his company's decision not to disclose rising losses at Merrill Lynch & Co, before the bank's takeover of Merrill was put before shareholders.

According to an October deposition made public on Wednesday, Lewis said he was told by Tim Mayopoulos -- then general counsel of B of A -- and lawyers from Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz in December 2008 that there was not a disclosable item.

That was despite the fact that the bank had recently revised its expectations for Merrill's fourth quarter pre-tax loss to more than $14 billion.

Lewis also said in the deposition that he felt he was not qualified to decide what would or wouldn't be disclosable.

U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan on Wednesday delayed to February 22 from February 19 his ruling on the Securities and Exchange Commission's $150 million accord with Bank of America Corp over the Merrill Lynch takeover.

Rakoff invited New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to provide testimony by five people involved in the merger, including Mayopoulos.

(Reporting by Michael Erman; Editing by Gary Hill)

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