The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission resolved an impasse over punishing Bank of America Corp. in a mortgage-bond case, clearing the way for the lender to complete a $16.7 billion global settlement, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. In a private meeting earlier this week, SEC commissioners voted to waive most of a set of additional sanctions that could have seriously curtailed the bank’s asset management business and ability to raise money for private companies. Some of the relief is conditioned on the bank’s good behavior and comes with an outside monitor. The bank also got hit with a penalty that takes away its ability to issue more shares or bonds without getting SEC approval for each deal. The SEC’s decision came as Bank of America and the agency neared a deadline for a federal judge in North Carolina to sign off on the settlement. The two sides had twice sought more time from the court as negotiations dragged on.
