When Bank of America agreed in December to pay $335 million to resolve federal charges that its mortgage-lending arm discriminated against black and Hispanic borrowers, government officials hailed it as the largest fair-lending settlement in history.
But, in fact, the banking giant has the right to a massive discount on the payout. Thirty-five percent of the settlement is deductible. That means Bank of America could wind up saving $117 million on its tax bill.
