Bank of America CEO wants to meet Attorney General to negotiate deal

WASHINGTON, June 20 (UPI) -- Bank of America said it was attempting to set up a meeting between CEO Brian Moynihan and Attorney General Eric Holder to negotiate a settlement for its handling of mortgage-backed securities.

Sources close to the matter said that Bank of America officials attempted to get the two to meet a few weeks ago The bank wants to settle with the Justice Department over accusations regarding securities it sold leading up to the 2008 financial crisis. The sources said that the two sides were negotiating a deal but were nowhere close to reaching an agreement.

Bank of America and the Justice Department have been debating the structure of the settlement, including how much would be paid in cash or if should the bank help homeowners with mortgage discounts and payments.

The bank is expected to dole out $12 billion to settle cases involving the Justice Department and other authorities looking into the sale of the flawed securities. That sum would take the bank's total punitive payments to the government to $18 billion.

It seems like Bank of America is following the example set by J.P. Morgan Chase CEO James Dimon who met Holder last year, leading to a $13 billion settlement for a similar securities-related case.