Bank of America, one of the largest financial organizations in the US, has agreed to pay $675 million to settle charges of improper trading. The deal, finalized this week, concludes an agreement first cemented last March.
The bank faced both state and federal charges that it improperly traded Nations Funds by skimming profits from long-term shareholders before late-trading the shares.
The deal forged with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the office of New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, the Federal Reserve and the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, will result in the financial institution paying $375 million to settled complaints against its companies and $140 million to settle complaints against units of the former FleetBoston Financial company, which Bank of America acquired last year.
Additionally, in an agreement with Eliot Spitzer’s office, the bank will reduce its investor fee rates by $32 million a year for five years.
In making the settlement, Bank of America has not admitted or accepted any wrongdoing. Company spokesman Robert Stickler commented that the activities in question did not reflect the bank’s business practices. Sticker added that the bank was pleased to have put the issue behind it.