Paulson says told BofA's Lewis Fed could oust him

Former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson says in prepared congressional testimony that he told Bank of America Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis the Federal Reserve could oust the bank's management and board if they walked away from a planned merger with Merrill Lynch.

Paulson also said in testimony prepared for delivery to the House Oversight and Government Reform panel on Thursday that he was never instructed by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke to indicate to Lewis any actions the Fed might take.

(Reporting by Mark Felsenthal; Editing by Jan Paschal)