Richard Bove

The five-largest U.S. banks entered into a settlement with the U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller and Colorado Attorney General John W. Suthers Thursday over "mortgage loan servicing and foreclosure abuses."

The five banks -- Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Ally Financial, Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), J.P. Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), and Citigroup (NYSE: C) -- will pay about ...