By Greg Morcroft - Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) CEO Brian Moynihan has reached out to the U.S. Justice Department and asked for a meeting with Attorney General Eric Holder to discuss a possible multibillion settlement over the bank’s dealings in mortgages before and during the recent financial crisis, according to a report on Friday.
Several of the country’s top banks have paid out billions of dollars in fines and restitution following allegations of malfeasance in their mortgage operations ahead of the financial crisis.
Reuters reported that ongoing talks between the two parties have stalled, with the two not meeting in over a week.
Several reports over the last week say talks broke down when the sides could not reach agreement on a price for the settlement, with the DOJ seeking up to $17 billion, and Bank of America offering no more than $12 billion to close the deal.
Reuters said that Bank of America spokesman Lawrence Grayson and Justice Department spokeswoman Dena Iverson declined to comment.
The report suggested that Moynihan and his bank may be taking a page out of JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon’s playbook from his recent dealings with the Justice Department. It noted that in September of last year Dimon went to Washington for discussions with Holder and by November the two had a struck a deal for JPMorgan to settle its case for $13 billion.
The report, citing unnamed sources said that the Justice Department has not yet responded to Bank of America’s request.