According to the closing Order, dated February 8, 2002, The Bank of America Corporation agreed to pay $490 million to settle lawsuits claiming it hid losses from loans to a hedge fund before combining with the NationsBank Corporation in 1998. Shareholders accused Bank of America of concealing a write-off of $372 million stemming from a loan to the hedge fund, D. E. Shaw & Company of New York. Some plaintiffs' lawyers said bank executives hid the losses because they did not want to derail NationsBank's purchase of BankAmerica. The bank, based in Charlotte, N.C., did not admit any wrongdoing under the settlement.

According to a news article in the Saint Louis Post-Dispatch dated December 3, 2003, some of the lead plaintiffs in the case objected to the settlement, but the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the settlement on December 2, 2003, saying that the district court judge had the discretion to approve the settlement without the approval of all the lead plaintiffs.

The Corporation and certain present and former officers and directors have been named as defendants in a number of actions filed in several federal courts that have been consolidated for pretrial purposes before a Missouri federal court. The amended complaint in the consolidated actions alleges, among other things, that the defendants failed to disclose material facts about BankAmerica's losses relating to D.E. Shaw & Co., L.P. until mid-October 1998, in violation of various provisions of federal and state laws. The amended complaint also alleges that the proxy statement-prospectus of August 4, 1998, falsely stated that the Merger would be one of equals and alleges a scheme to have NationsBank gain control over the newly merged entity. The Missouri federal court has certified classes consisting generally of persons who were shareholders of NationsBank or BankAmerica on September 30, 1998, or were entitled to vote on the Merger, or who purchased or acquired securities of the Corporation or its predecessors between August 4, 1998 and October 13, 1998.

The amended complaint in the consolidated actions alleges, among other things, that the defendants failed to disclose material facts about BankAmerica's losses relating to D.E. Shaw Securities Group, L.P. and related entities until mid-October 1998, in violation of various provisions of federal and state laws. The amended complaint also alleges that the proxy statement-prospectus of August 4, 1998, falsely stated that the Merger would be one of equals and alleges a scheme to have NationsBank gain control over the newly merged entity. The Missouri federal court has certified classes consisting generally of persons who were stockholders of NationsBank or BankAmerica on September 30, 1998, or were entitled to vote on the Merger, or who purchased or acquired securities of the Corporation or its predecessors between August 4, 1998 and October 13, 1998. The amended complaint substantially survived a motion to dismiss, and discovery is underway. Claims against certain director-defendants were dismissed with leave to replead.