Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Finance Agency reached an agreement with Bank of America (BAC) to settle claims associated with non-agency mortgage-related securities from 2005 to 2007.
Under the agreement, Bank of America will pay Fannie $4.4 billion to satisfy all claims and buyback private label securities from Fannie with an unpaid principal balance of approximately $1.9 billion.
Meanwhile, Bank of America will pay Freddie $5.1 billion.
According to the FHFA, the agreement provides for an aggregate payment of approximately $9.33 billion by Bank of America that includes the litigation resolution as well as a purchase of securities by Bank of America from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
“FHFA has acted under its statutory mandate to recover losses incurred by the companies and American taxpayers and has concluded that this resolution represents a reasonable and prudent settlement of these cases,” said FHFA Director Mel Watt said.
“This settlement also represents an important step in helping restore stability to our broader mortgage market and moving to bring back the role of private firms in providing mortgage credit. Many potential homeowners will benefit from increasing certainty in the marketplace and that is very much the direction we should be taking,” Watt added.
The FHFA now has only seven out of 18 PLS suits filed in 2011 against various institutions.
