Bank of America says its fourth-quarter earnings shrank as it cleaned up old problems from its mortgage unit, settling one case with Fannie Mae and another with the government. But the modestly positive results still beat the expectations of analysts.
Bank of America has agreed to pay $2.43 billion to settle a class-action shareholder lawsuit related to its acquisition of Merrill Lynch. Plaintiffs alleged that Bank of America and some of its officers made false or misleading statements about both companies' financial health ahead of the deal.
Two surprises in the finance biz: A small group of bond investors has thrown a wrench into Bank of America's massive mortgage securities settlement, while the Fed revealed a secret $15 billion loan it made to Goldman Sachs in 2008. But in retail, there are no bad surprises on same-store sales so far.