Banks Face More Costs From Housing Crisis

Too early to call it over

Banks agreed to another $20 billion in mortgage settlements Monday, putting some legal issues behind them but still not closing the door on future housing bust costs.

Lenders are trying to get past the crisis era of government bailouts and lawsuits. Two mortgage-related settlements involving Bank of America (BAC), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC), Citigroup (C) and other banks were announced Monday, which was also the deadline for banking giants to submit plans to the Federal Reserve for returning capital to shareholders.

Last year, the Fed let banks start raising or resuming dividend payments. Expectations for another wave of payouts has driven up bank stocks recently. BofA shares have doubled in price in the last year.