Bank Of America in Record $17 Billion Settlement

Shares of Bank of America

are trading higher on the back of an AP story confirming that Bank of America reached a definitive agreement to pay a roughly 17 billion fine, marking the biggest ever settlement between the U.S. government and a company. This agreement had been tentatively reached on August 6th, but was finalized today. In a related story, civil prosecution may be brought against former Countrywide Financial head Angelo Mozilo regarding mortgage issuance during the sub-prime boom. Bank of America took over Countrywide during the the financial crisis in July 2008. Shares of BAC are up 9 cents at 15.53