The $100 Billion Mistake: Bank Of America's (NYSE:BAC) near $50 Billion Contribution Moves American Banks Closer Towards The Milestone Mark For Payments And Fines

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) has received the lion's share of press about multibillion-dollar settlements stemming from mortgage-related wrongdoing in the lead-up to the financial crisis, not least its tentative $13 billion settlement with government investigators. So it might surprise you to know that since 2008, Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC) has paid out more than every other bank in the United States combined and a little over double what JPMorgan has paid.

BoA, led by Brian Moynihan, has paid out more than $47 billion compared with JPMorgan’s $22.3 billion, Wells Fargo & Co.'s (NYSE:WFC) $9.8 billion, Citigroup Inc.'s (NYSE:C) $6.2 billion, Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s (NYSE:GS) $0.9 billion, and a combined $9 billion for America’s remaining mortgage-related institutions.

Last year five banks agreed to pay $32 billion in the National Mortgage Settlement to provide mortgage relief to homeowners affected by predatory lending practices; Bank of America agreed to pay $12.4 billion.

Since 2008, more than $95 billion in mortgage-related penalties have been paid by financial firms all across America, and things look like they are due to get worse. Bank of America may soon reach a $6 billion settlement with regulators and it looks like JPMorgan may have to face the music on the Bernie Madoff scandal, although no formal charges have been filed as yet.