Pravda: Bank of America agrees to pay $85 billion to resolve claims of bondholders!

Bank of America, America's biggest bank, agreed to pay $85 billion to resolve claims made by bondholders that the lenders sold "troubled mortgage-backed securities" that soured when the housing market tanked! The deal, which must be approved by a court, was announced Wednesday after a group of 22 investors demanded that the Charlotte, NC bank repurchase $47 billion in mortgages that its Countrywide unit sold to investors in the form of bonds. The group, which includes the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and Blackrock Financial Management, argued that Countrywide enriched itself at the expense of investors in the form of bonds. The group, which also includes the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and Blackrock Financial Management argued that Countrywide enriched itself at the expense of investors by continuing to service bad loans while running up fees. According to the New York Daily News, Bank of America, which bought Countrywide in 2008 for $4 billion, has denied those claims. The payout settles claims by just 22 investors, who said Bank of America Corp. sold bonds based on substandard home mortgages. The bonds fell in value, when the housing market collapsed and left investors with losses on $424 billion worth of mortgages. The $8.5 billion settlement eclipses earnings from the past three years at the Charlotte, NC bank. Bank of America still faces the prospect of billions of dollars in fines from US and state regulators investigating foreclosure procedures!