Financial institution of America racked up $1.2 billion in penalties, settlements in 2022


NEW YORK, Feb 22 (Reuters) – Financial institution of America Corp (BofA) (BAC.N) amassed $1.2 billion in bills for litigation and regulatory investigations final yr together with fines and settlements, in keeping with an organization submitting on Wednesday.

The associated fee is a significant bounce from $164 million recorded by the second-largest U.S. lender in 2021 and $823 million in 2020, and excludes funds for inside and exterior legal professionals.

The corporate handled a number of main points in 2022, setting apart $354 million as a part of a settlement to pay bond insurer Ambac Monetary Group (AMBC.N) for a significant lawsuit that stemmed from the 2008 mortgage disaster.

BofA additionally paid $225 million in penalties to U.S. monetary regulators final yr over workers’ use of unauthorized messaging platforms together with WhatsApp.

A pair of banking regulators additionally fined the financial institution $225 million over what they referred to as a “botched” dealing with of jobless advantages in the course of the pandemic.

Whereas these three instances led to only over $800 million in mixed bills final yr, BofA didn’t specify what accounted for the remaining $400 million. An organization spokesperson declined to remark.

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Another U.S. banks additionally obtained hefty penalties in 2022.

In December, the U.S. Shopper Monetary Safety Bureau hit Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N) with the watchdog’s largest ever civil penalty as a part of a $3.7 billion settlement to settle fees over widespread mismanagement of automotive loans, mortgages and financial institution accounts.

Reporting by Lananh Nguyen; Enhancing by Jamie Freed

Our Requirements: The Thomson Reuters Belief Rules.