Bank of America to Pay $10 Billion in Settlement With Fannie Mae [View all]

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Bank of America to Pay $10 Billion in Settlement With Fannie Mae

By MICHAEL J. DE LA MERCED and JESSICA SILVER-GREENBERG

Bank of America agreed on Monday to pay more than $10 billion to Fannie Mae to settle claims over troubled mortgages that soured during the housing crash, mostly loans issued by the bank’s Countrywide Financial subsidiary.

Under the terms of the pact, Bank of America will pay Fannie Mae $3.6 billion, and will also spend $6.75 billion to buy back mortgages from the housing finance giant at a discount to their original value....The bank had settled its fight with Freddie Mac, the other government-owned mortgage giant, in 2011.

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The deal on Monday helps the bank move away from its troubled mortgage business. Still, the bank’s attempts to resolve other costly mortgage litigation have so far been stymied. Looking to appease investors that sued the bank for losses when mortgages packaged into securities imploded during the financial crisis, the bank agreed to pay $8.5 billion in June 2011. But the settlement, which would help mollify investors including the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and Pimco, has been stalled.

Further thwarting Bank of America’s retreat from the mortgage business, federal prosecutors sued the bank in October, accusing it of churning through loans so quickly that quality controls were virtually forgotten. The Justice Department sued the bank under a law that could mean Bank of America could pay well more than $1 billion to settle.

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http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/01/07/bank-of-america-to-pay-10-billion-in-settlement-with-fannie-mae/