Late-day Rally Lifts Bank of America (NYSE:BAC)

A late-day buying spree is causing shares in Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) to soar higher than its big bank peers. The rally began just after 3 p.m., shortly after news broke that the financial institution had settled a federal lawsuit regarding a subsidiary's subprime lending practices for $335 million.

Shares of Bank of America soared from $5.15 to $5.24, a jump of nearly 2 percent in total price within three-quarters of an hour.

The $335 million settlement with the Justice Department, which had been forthcoming, ends claims from 200,000 borrowers, many of them minorities, in 41 states that they had been unfairly charged higher fees or pushed into subprime loans by Countrywide Financial, a mortgage originator that was later purchased by Bank of America.

"The department's action against Countrywide makes clear that we will not hesitate to hold financial institutions accountable, including one of the nation's largest, for lending discrimination," Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement. "These institutions should make judgments based on applicants' creditworthiness, not on the color of their skin. "

After a monster session yesterday, shares are up 1.35 percent for the day, leading other large financial sector companies.