A U.S. market regulator sued Bank of America Corp on Tuesday, charging it with failing to disclose extraordinary losses at Merrill Lynch & Co before shareholders voted on the companies' merger.

The civil lawsuit, filed in Manhattan federal court by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, alleged the lack of disclosure violated federal proxy rules.

Bank of America did not immediately return requests seeking comment.

The new case is SEC v. Bank of America Corp, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 10-0215.

(Reporting by Grant McCool; editing by Andre Grenon)

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