BoA Settles Countrywide's Loans

While talks about Bank of America acquiring Countrywide have been in consideration for awhile, it seems I missed the actual event, in July, for $4 billion. That one seems to have slipped under the radar. Its stock (BAC; the five year spread is probably the most informative) took a pounding in July but has recovered. Today, it sounds from this article that state attorney generals are pressuring a reluctant Bank of America to abide by the loan modification terms of the mortgage rescue bill passed in early August and to be enacted starting this month. Given the scope of the problem, the $8.6 billion price tag seems small. In related news, today BoA announced a 68% decline in profits from last year, and an issuance of 10 billion in common stock to firm up its balance sheet.