Bank of America Corp (BAC) Climbs Higher After Annual Report

Legal matters
The bank has reduced its legal reserves by half a billion, with the confidence that its legal losses are coming to an end. In related news, current legal foe MBIA Inc. (NYSE:MBI) stated in its earnings release this week that it is looking for a timely legal settlement that would benefit both itself and BAC — a 180 from its previous stance on the two companies’ current court battle. A settlement would be a huge win for B of A since the outcome of its MBIA suit may have implications on its other legal matters.

Investigations
Also in its filing, Bank of America disclosed that the New York Attorney General is investigating it for its purchase, underwriting, and securitization of mortgage loans. B of A is the third bank to be investigate by the NYAG, and it noted that it is cooperating with the investigation.

Coming up
There are a few very important dates coming up for Bank of America. Next Thursday is the release of the Fed stress test results, which will show whether the nation’s banks could withstand another financial crisis. Of the five largest banks, Bank of America, Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C), and JPMorgan were the top capitalized banks according to their fourth-quarter capital balances. The following Thursday (March 14) is the release of the Fed’s Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review, which works in tandem with the stress test to show whether a bank is capable of increasing its dividend or repurchasing shares. After being denied its request to raise its dividend in 2011, many analysts expect that Bank of America will be granted an increase this time around.

The article Bank of America Climbs Higher After Annual Report originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Jessica Alling has no position in any stocks mentioned, but you can contact her here. The Motley Fool owns shares of Bank of America, Citigroup, and JPMorgan Chase.

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