Bank of America Corp. is set to pay a record settlement of nearly $17 billion over its mortgage lending, capping a legal odyssey that has dogged it since the depths of the financial crisis, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The deal will resolve 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. More than $1 billion of the payout from the Charlotte, N.C.-based bank could go to a handful of states. The settlement amount is the largest ever reached between the U.S. and a single company, and is approximately equal to the 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. (Subscription required.)
