Three of the nation's biggest banks warned investors Friday that federal and state investigations into their mortgage businesses could lead to severe financial penalties.
The New York Times reported that Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup made disclosures in their U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings that indicated any settlement with the government could be expensive.
Many state attorneys general, including in Ohio, have looked into the banks mortgage practices and federal regulators also have investigations ongoing.
Along with potentially costing the banks financial penalties, the investigations also could damage the banks' reputations, according to Bank of America's (NYSE: BAC) filing.
It was not clear if the investigations could have an impact on other banks with mortgage operations other than those three. MetLife Inc. (NYSE: MET) and PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE: PNC) have large loan operations in the Dayton region with hundreds of employees each. The largest bank in the Dayton region is Fifth Third Bancorp (Nasdaq: FITB), along with Huntington Bancshares (Nasdaq: HBAN) and KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY).
BofA is the nation's largest bank. In terms of assets, Bank of America held $2.27 trillion in assets at the end of last year, while JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) had $2.12 trillion in assets at year-end, Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) had $1.91 trillion and Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) had $1.26 trillion.
Bank of America has three home loan branches in the Dayton region, and Wells Fargo has three securities branches, three mortgage offices, a loan processing center and four companies in its financial network in the Dayton region.
The New York Times reported that Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup made disclosures in their U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings that indicated any settlement with the government could be expensive.
Many state attorneys general, including in Ohio, have looked into the banks mortgage practices and federal regulators also have investigations ongoing.
Along with potentially costing the banks financial penalties, the investigations also could damage the banks' reputations, according to Bank of America's (NYSE: BAC) filing.
It was not clear if the investigations could have an impact on other banks with mortgage operations other than those three. MetLife Inc. (NYSE: MET) and PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE: PNC) have large loan operations in the Dayton region with hundreds of employees each. The largest bank in the Dayton region is Fifth Third Bancorp (Nasdaq: FITB), along with Huntington Bancshares (Nasdaq: HBAN) and KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY).
BofA is the nation's largest bank. In terms of assets, Bank of America held $2.27 trillion in assets at the end of last year, while JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) had $2.12 trillion in assets at year-end, Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) had $1.91 trillion and Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) had $1.26 trillion.
Bank of America has three home loan branches in the Dayton region, and Wells Fargo has three securities branches, three mortgage offices, a loan processing center and four companies in its financial network in the Dayton region.
