Bank of America has hired outside consultants to lead an internal investigation into its mutual fund dealing practices. The move comes at a time when Fidelity Investments received a subpoena from US regulators as part of the widening investigation into mutual fund trading abuses.

Ken Lewis, chief executive and chairman of Bank of America said an independent probe into the bank's mutual fund dealing would ensure that the "policies and practices in all of our businesses remain at the highest level of industry standards".