Bank of America charts path to settlements - Post Bulletin

ust how much will it cost the big banks to atone for the mortgage mess?
Bank of America announced Wednesday that it would take a whopping $20 billion hit to put the fallout from the subprime bust behind it and satisfy claims from angry investors. But for its peers, the settlements may just be starting.

Heavyweight investors that forced Bank of America to hand over billions to cover the cost of home loans that later defaulted are now setting their sights on companies like JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo, raising the prospect of more multibillion-dollar deals.

"Bank of America has charted a path that our clients expect other banks will follow," said Kathy D. Patrick, the lawyer who represented BlackRock, PIMCO, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and 19 other investors who hold the soured mortgage securities assembled by Bank of America.

via postbulletin.com