Bank of America has admitted losing several computer data tapes during shipment to a backup data centre.

The missing tapes contained customer and account information for the US federal government charge card programme, the company said.

Federal law enforcement officials were immediately alerted when "a small number" of tapes were discovered missing, but so far no evidence has been found to suggest that the tapes or their content have been accessed or misused.

The bank said that the tapes are "now presumed lost". The government cardholder accounts included on the data tapes will continue to be monitored, and government cardholders will be contacted should any unusual activity be detected. Bank of America stated that no unusual activity has been observed.

It added that its cardholders will not be held liable for any unauthorised use of their cards.

Barbara Desoer, global technology, service and fulfilment executive for Bank of America, said: "We deeply regret this unfortunate incident. The privacy of customer information receives the highest priority at Bank of America, and we take our responsibilities for safeguarding it very seriously."