Bank of America Corp. announced more than $14 billion (€10.6 billion) of legal settlements over bad mortgages it sold to investors and flaws in its foreclosure process, taking the bank a step closer to ending the home loan problems that have dogged it for years.

About $3 billion (€2.28 billion) of Bank of America’s Monday’s settlements were part of a larger $8.5 billion (€6.4 billion) deal between 10 big mortgage lenders and regulators to end a loan-by-loan review of foreclosures mandated by the Government.

Bank of America shares touched their highest level in nearly two years as investors called it a good step towards ending the company’s multiple legal woes. The shares later retreated to close down 0.2 per cent at $12.09 (€9.8).

Analysts have estimated that Bank of America has paid out some $40 billion (€30.4 billion) for mortgage settlements since the crisis began. Most of those losses stem from its 2008 purchase of Countrywide Financial, once the largest subprime lender in the US.

But the bank is moving closer to the day when it can stop worrying about mortgages and start focusing on growth, analysts and investors said.

Besides the multibank foreclosure settlement, the second largest US bank also announced about $11.6 billion of settlements with government mortgage finance company Fannie Mae to end allegations the bank improperly sold mortgages that later soured, and to resolve questions about foreclosure delays.