BofA Ready to Settle ARS Deal

Bank of America is ready to settle federal and state probes into the marketing of auction-rate securities, joining eight other companies that reached agreements, according to Reuters.

Over the past month, Bank of America has been in talks with the Securities and Exchange Commission in New York and Massachusetts on a resolution that would provide liquidity relief to customers hurt when the $330 billion market seized in February, according to Reuters.

Alex Detrick, a spokesperson for New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, told Reuters earlier today that no deal was set yet. "Our investigation into Bank of America is ongoing," said Detrick.

Cuomo was expected to send subpoenas to several Bank of America officials this week. Earlier this week, Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin threatened to sue the bank, saying his office had been unable to reach a settlement.

This latest development is linked to an ongoing investigation that began after regulators say brokerages misled investors into believing that the auction-rate debts were safe and the equivalent of cash. However, after the market crashed, tens of thousands of investors could not sell the debt or could only do so by incurring significant losses.