Bank of America Reaches $16.65 Billion Settlement

Bank of America Corp. agreed to pay a settlement of $16.65 billion over its mortgage lending, capping a legal odyssey that has dogged it since the depths of the financial crisis.

The deal resolves a government investigation that stems largely from the bank's purchases of Merrill Lynch & Co. and Countrywide Financial Corp. as they teetered in the housing crisis.

The settlement amount is the largest ever reached between the U.S. and a single company, and is approximately equal to the Charlotte, N.C., bank's total profit for the past three years. Bank of America has spent more than $60 billion on legal woes stemming from the financial crisis, and the latest settlement would push the tab to close to $80 billion.

The settlement could provide a turning point for Bank of America: Chief Executive Brian Moynihan, who has spent much of his 4 1/2 years as CEO wading through litigation, has told investors and analysts this is the last of the big, lingering financial-crisis problems.

In negotiations with the Justice Department, the bank's lawyers argued the firm was being unreasonably punished for the actions of Merrill and Countrywide, which together issued most of the questionable mortgage securities at the center of the probe. But prosecutors pushed back, saying the bank had benefited from Merrill and bought Countrywide without any government prodding. The bank lobbied unsuccessfully to pay most of the settlement in consumer aid to homeowners, which would be less burdensome on the company's bottom line.

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