Bank of America Chief Executive Ken Lewis said his company is still in talks with U.S. officials on how to compensate the government for a prior loss-sharing agreement, according to a letter released by a watchdog lawmaker on Thursday.

Lewis called the government talks thoughtful and professional and said Bank of America was confident it would resolve the issue, in a Wednesday letter to Rep. Edolphus Towns, chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Bank of America has been negotiating how much it must pay for an agreement -- part of a $20 billion bailout for the firm -- in which the government said it would share losses on $118 billion of toxic assets.

Towns called on Lewis to repay the taxpayers and stop stonewalling.

It seems that the bank wants to have it both ways -- all the benefits of government insurance without having to pay a dime for all of its benefits, he said in statement.

Towns' committee is examining the role of the government in Bank of America's buy of investment bank Merrill Lynch.

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