Bank of America faces new regulatory probes into housing and foreign exchange practices

NEW YORK – Bank of America is facing new probes into its mortgage practices as well as its foreign exchange business.

The bank, which has already paid out billions of dollars to settle legal claims resulting from the housing and financial crisis, said in a regulatory filing late Tuesday that it was co-operating with government authorities in North America, Europe and Asia. The authorities are investigating a “significant” number of participants in the foreign exchange markets for their conduct over a number of years.

Bank of America also said that the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Eastern District of New York is conducting an investigation concerning its compliance with the requirements of the Federal Housing Administration’s Direct Endorsement Program and the quality of mortgages it passed along to the government-backed mortgage agencies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The bank also increased its estimate of possible losses from legal actions against it by $1 billion to $6.1 billion from $5.1 billion for the end of the third quarter.