NEWS FLASH

Merrill Lynch To Pay $315 Million To Settle Charges It Misled Mortgage Investors | According to Reuters, Merrill Lynch, the investment banking arm of Bank of America, is the latest bank to agree to settle charges that it misled investors in mortgage backed securities. Merrill Lynch will pay $315 million, more than the $285 million that Citigroup will pay to settle similar charges or the $185 million that Wells Fargo will fork over. However, this settlement continues the trend of banks paying a relative pittance to settle fraud charges. The litigation stems from Merrill’s sale of mortgage certificates allegedly containing “untrue statements and material omissions.”