By: Cyrus Sanati and Peter Edmonston

Just how much of a secret are Merrill Lynch's bonus numbers?

In 1979, the New York State Supreme Court ruled that Carvel did not need to turn its secret formula over to the New York State attorney general's office, which was investigating restraint-of-trade allegations at Carvel.

That was the comparison that Bank of America's lawyers made Friday morning in a New York courtroom, as they tried to persuade a judge to let them keep private the investment bank's information about its top-earning employees.

To continue reading this interesting article from DealBook, click here.