Bank Of America (BOA)

The government alleges Bank of America mislead investors in the lead-up to the housing bust. The suit covers about $850 million worth of mortgage-backed securities from 2008.

Six former employees and one contractor say Bank of America's mortgage servicing unit consistently lied to homeowners, fraudulently denied loan modifications and offered bonuses to staff for intentionally pushing people into foreclosure, according to a Salon.com report.

The agreement resolves claims against the bank about mortgage-backed securities it sold before the housing bust. Many weren't worth what was promised. Also today, BofA and other banks are expectd to settle claims related to alleged foreclosure abuses.

The bank said Friday it will pay $2.43 billion to settle a lawsuit related to its purchase of Merrill Lynch in 2008 at the height of the financial crisis. Investors who owned Bank of America stock at the time brought the class-action suit, claiming bank officials made false statements about the health of both companies at the time of the merger. Bank of America denied the allegations.

Disgruntled investors alleged that the bank misled them about its acquisition of Merrill Lynch. The bank has not admitted doing anything wrong, but is moving to put the lawsuit behind it.

So far, the banks have offered more than $10 billion in consumer relief, in the form of refinancing, modifications and loan forgiveness. Bank of America must pay the biggest share of the settlement, But the report showed the bank had not completed any refinancings or principal-reduction modifications.

Other banks did make progress erasing $1.3 billion of mortgage principle through loan modifications.