CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Bank of America Corp. said it has been granted amnesty in the federal antitrust probe of the municipal bond market.
In return for its voluntary cooperation, which began before the investigation was launched, Bank of America said the U.S. Justice Department has agreed the bank will face no criminal antitrust charges for actions it has reported. Also taking part in the probe of bid-rigging in investment contracts sold to states and municipalities are the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Internal Revenue Service.
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In addition, Bank of America said, it has agreed to pay the IRS $14.7 million to settle a dispute over the company’s role in certain “blind pool” bond transactions. The company admitted no guilt.
“It’s a positive step when you see settlements, because it does tend to expedite the process,” Carol Lew, the president of the National Association of Bond Lawyers and a public finance lawyer with Stradling Yocca Carlson & Roth in Newport Beach, Calif., told Bloomberg News.
The investigation has roiled the 200-year-old municipals market, which has $2.3 trillion of bonds outstanding, Bloomberg said. Bank of America is the first to announce an agreement in the probe.
Additional information is available at bankofamerica.com.
