"The suggestion Bank of America was not heavily involved in this process, and that I alone made these decisions, is simply not true," John Thain told the paper.

Merrill awarded bonuses just days before Bank of America completed its acquisition of the Wall Street investment bank and brokerage on Jan 1.

Several U.S. lawmakers are pushing for a probe into Bank of America's purchase of Merrill.

(Reporting by Jennifer Robin Raj in Bangalore; Editing by Hans Peters)