Bank of America (BofA) is finally going to put its ongoing, multibillion-dollar lawsuit with some of its shareholders behind it—but it’s going to cost it.
Today, BofA announced it would settle a class action shareholder lawsuit to the tune of $2.43 billion. The plaintiffs in the suit are the bank’s shareholders, who claim during its acquisition of Merrill Lynch, BofA made false or misleading statements about the financial health of both companies.
BofA completed its deal to buy Merrill Lynch in September 2008, around the time Lehman Brothers collapsed and the economy took a nosedive. Not long after it inked the deal, BofA announced that Merrill Lynch would post $27.6 billion in 2008 losses, which sent BofA further into financial crisis that resulted in it asking for and receiving as $20 billion bailout from the government on top of the $25 billion it had already received.
In its settlement announcement, BofA denies any wrongdoing and looks to move forward. “As we work to put these long-standing issues behind us, our primary focus is on the future and serving our customers and clients,” Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said in a statement.
In addition to the payout, BofA has also agreed to adopt some corporate governance policies. The settlement agreement is currently awaiting court approval.
Read more about this settlement on The Washington Post.
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