The 22 investors, including money-management giants Pacific Investment Management Co. of Newport Beach and BlackRock Inc. of New York, held $56 billion in bonds backed by loans from Countrywide, once the nation's largest home lender as well as an aggressive supplier of subprime and other high-risk mortgages.

"This transaction essentially takes all Countrywide's private-label mortgage-backed securities from the table," the executive said Tuesday. "It's regarded Premier Patrick Sharp Jersey as a substantial step forward in Bank of America putting the Countrywide issues behind us."

The pending settlement covers only mortgage-related securities issued by Herve Leger Dresses Shop Countrywide and never those that BofA issued on its own.

BofA shares, which had lost 3 cents on the day, were up 12 cents at $10.94 in after-hours trading after word of the impending deal leaked. Some estimates of the bank's liability have been higher than $8.5 billion.

"The Street will view this like a significant amount," said Paul Miller, an analyst with FBR Capital Markets.

Almost all major mortgage issuers of this era incorporated the majority of their loans and sold them to private investors as well as to government-sponsored entities such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Fannie, Freddie and a host of institutional investors have demanded that the banks buy back many of the mortgage bonds, contending the lenders understated the riskiness Premier Zdeno Chara Jersey of the loans and mishandled troubled borrowers after the industry's meltdown from 2007.

Bank of America Authentic Magnus Paajarvi Jersey agreed in January to pay for Fannie and Freddie $2.8 billion to stay demands for buybacks of flawed mortgage loans, in addition to Marco Sturm Jersey some $3.5 billion in such payments it had already designed to them.

The pending settlement will be the first with private mortgage bond investors, but it is unlikely to be the Authentic Brad Marchand Jersey last. Among other big lenders with major exposure are Wells Fargo & Co. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chase had bought the remains of one of the most aggressive lenders, Washington Mutual Bank, following the Seattle-based thrift became the largest bank failure in history.

BofA, located in Charlotte, N.C., has struggled to put Countrywide's woes behind it since 2008 when it paid $2.5 billion in stock for the Calabasas-based mortgage specialist.

The bank settled securities-fraud accusations by some major Countrywide shareholders in August, but before the offer was finalized 33 plaintiffs ?? including the California Public Employees' Retirement Premier Phil Kessel Jersey System ?? dropped to seek more income by themselves.

And in April, BofA decided to pay $1.1 billion to mortgage insurer Assured Authentic Craig Conroy Jersey Guaranty Ltd. Other mortgage insurers are pressing states attempt to recover losses they sustained on Countrywide loans.

BofA is also among five major loan servicers negotiating having a coalition of state attorneys general and federal officials seeking Authentic Pavel Datsyuk Jersey damages and reforms following revelations that the lenders shortcut procedures and failed to follow laws while foreclosing on borrowers.

The damages under discussion in that case vary from a total of $5 billion to more than $20 billion, according to people near to the negotiations.