A hedge fund claims that Ken Lewis, Bank of America chief executive, should have known important financial information about Countrywide Financial in the months leading up to BofA’s acquisition of the home mortgage company last year.

The claim came to light on Friday when SRM Global, a Monaco-based hedge fund that owned 50m shares of Countrywide, once valued at $500m, filed a motion in Delaware Chancery Court asking leave to file a civil complaint against Angelo Mozilo, the former chief executive of Countrywide, Mr Lewis, and several top Countrywide executives.