Bank of America has been submerged by red ink caused by mortgage-related losses, but all that has apparently changed as the company reported a $2 billion profit in the fourth quarter.  After the announcement, Bank of America shares rose more than 2% to just below $7 a share. The profit announcement was a dramatic turnaround from the previous year.  Bank of America investors watched the company’s... 

Bank of America has agreed to pay $335 million to resolve claims that its Countrywide unit engaged in a pervasive pattern of discrimination.  The settlement was filed with the Central District court of California and is subject to court approval.  The money from the settlement will be used to compensate the victims of Countrywide’s discriminatory mortgage loans from 2004 through 2007. The U.S.... 

A plan has been announced for Bank of America to issue around $3 billion in common stock to increase the company’s capital and reduce the amount of debt owed.  The new shares of common stock will be issued in exchange for preferred shares owned by investors.  This exchange of common stock for preferred stock may involve up to 400 million common shares and has the potential to raise $2.76 billion... 

According to a report by Dow Jones Newswires, Bank of America is planning to implement a monthly debit card usage fee of $5 per month on all customers that use their debit cards to make purchases.  This fee is expected to take effect in early 2012.  Customers that only use their debit card for ATM transactions will be spared the charge, but any customer that swipes their debit card to make a purchase... 

Bank of America has reportedly increased the amount of foreclosure filings submitted against delinquent homeowners.  The move comes nearly a year after the company announced plans to halt its foreclosures in all 50 states following revelations of shoddy mortgage paperwork and a robo-signing scandal.  Other banks may also be considering increasing their foreclosure filings on homeowners that are delinquent... 

In a bid to save more than $5 billion annually, Bank of America has announced that they will cut nearly 30,000 jobs over the next few years.  The job cuts are part of Bank of America’s efforts to revamp and minimize the company after suffering massive losses in the real estate bust of 2008.  The company has also had numerous problems with poorly written mortgages acquired when the bank purchased... 

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has filed lawsuits against 17 banks in New York state and federal courts and in federal court in Connecticut.  The lawsuits seek to recoup $196 billion lost on mortgage-backed securities purchased by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.  The lawsuits accuse the banks of providing misleading information about the soundness of the mortgages underlying the securities... 

Shares of Goldman Sachs (GS), Bank of America (BAC) and Citigroup (C) led the financial sector lower on Thursday.  All three issues finished the session down more than 3 percent after the Federal Reserve told Goldman Sachs to review foreclosure practices at one of its subsidiaries; Litton Loan Servicing. The impact of the news spread throughout the financial sector as investors worried regulators...