Brian Moynihan, the Bank of America CEO was told by a NY judge that he must testify in a lawsuit brought by bond insurer MBIA, which claims the bank fraudulently induced it to insure risky mortgage-backed securities.  MBIA once was the largest U.S. municipal bond insurer - i.e., until it had to restructure in 2009, following large losses insuring mortgage debt. The judge believes that Moynihan could provide relevant testimony in the case due to his position as CEO, former president of investment banking and the fact that he oversaw the process of integrating Countrywide into Bank of America, which BofA acquired in July 2008.   [C-I Note: In a moment of misplace hubris by then-CEO Ken Lewis, who failed to gauge the depths to which Countrywide had fallen under the leadership(?) of Angelo Mozilo.] MBIA filed a lawsuit against Countrywide later that year, 2008 and, in 2009, claimed BofA was liable for Countrywide's conduct.  Meanwhile, BofA is fighting several lawsuits pertaining to the global financial crisis and had sought to block MBIA's efforts to have Moynihan testify - arguing that MBIA was seeking his deposition only to harass the bank and that Moynihan had no unique knowledge about the case. As noted above, the judge on Wednesday denied the request, and in her court papers, had this to say: "The knowledge Moynihan gained as part of the (Countrywide) Steering Committee is unique, and it is material and necessary to MBIA's successor liability claim."  She added: "Moynihan was involved in "high-level decisions regarding the Countrywide transaction'' and his testimony will not duplicate that of lower-level employees.MBIA declined to comment and Bank of America did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The case is: MBIA Insurance Corp v. Countrywide Home Loans Inc et al, NYS Supreme Court, New York County, No. 602825/2008. [Reuters, 4/13/12]