AIG sues Bank of America for $10bn bad debt losses

Insurance group AIG is suing Bank of America (BoA) for $10bn (�6.1bn), accusing the lender of carrying out a "massive fraud" on bad mortgage debt. AIG alleges that BoA exaggerated the quality of the $28bn worth of mortgage-backed investment products it bought from the bank prior to the 2008 turmoil in the financial markets. BoA has rejected AIG's allegations. Last month, BoA reported that it had agreed to pay $8.5bn to settle other claims related to bad mortgage debt. AIG, which remains majority owned by the US government after it required $182.3bn of bail-out funds due to its exposure to bad US mortgage debt, said BoA was "engaged in a massive scheme to manipulate and deceive investors". Its lawsuit also names BoA subsidiaries Countrywide and Merrill Lynch. BoA spokesman Lawrence Di Rita said: "AIG recklessly chased high yields and profits throughout the mortgage and structured finance markets.