BRIEF-Bank of America in record $42 mln settlement over 'masking' scheme -- NY attorney general

March 23 (Reuters) - New york attorney general announces what he calls record $42 million settlement with bank of america over fraudulent ‘masking’ scheme in electronic trading division New york attorney general eric schneiderman says bank of america merrill lynch admits to systematically misleading clients about how stock orders were handled Schneiderman says bank of america merrill lynch admits to violating new york’s martin act Schneiderman says $42 mln penalty is largest new york state recovery in connection with an electronic trading investigation Schneiderman says bank had undisclosed agreements with electronic liquidity providers such as citadel securities, knight capital, d.e. Shaw, two sigma securities, and madoff securities Schneiderman says undisclosed agreements enabled bank to conceal from clients over five years that it secretly routed their orders for equity securities to those firms