Is this Closure? Bank of America Settles with FHFA for $9.3 Billion

Peter Schoeder reports on a $9.3 billion settlement between the Bank of America and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). The settlement is the latest in a group of 18 suits pursued by the FHFA since 2011 against some of the nation’s largest banks. The current settlement also resolves issues with Countrywide Financial and Merrill Lynch, which were later bought by the Bank of America.

“The housing regulator filed 18 different suits in 2011, alleging banks misled housing giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac when they sold them mortgage-backed securities loaded with risky mortgages.” Of those 18 suits, seven remain outstanding, but the FHFA said this week that it remains committed to “resolving those actions.”

A separate article by Reuters reports that Bank of America is claiming to have resolved about 88 percent of its exposure to securities connected in mortgage bond litigation. Bank of America still faces a lawsuit with the U.S. Department of Justice regarding mortgage-backed securities it sold during the housing boom that ended in 2008.