Financial Winners and Losers: BofA

(Adds Jefferies, Legg Mason; updated share prices throughout.)

Financial stocks closed out Thursday on a positive note, even as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was grilled by a congressional committee about his role in steering Bank of America (BAC Quote) away from abandoning its deal for Merrill Lynch late last year.

Bernanke faced intense questioning from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee over whether he and the Fed pressured BofA to close the deal. BofA CEO Ken Lewis alluded to facing some pressure to complete the deal as shareholders increasingly criticized him for paying too high a premium for the ailing brokerage. Separately, BofA said on Thursday that once it completes a debt exchange by the end of the week, it will have raised more than the $33.9 billion required by the government.

BofA shares spent most of the day in negative territory, but ended the day flat at $12.35. The NYSE Financial Sector Index was rose 62.96 points to 3868.48 and the KBW Bank Index ticked up 0.68 to 36.26. ...