Another day, another BofA mortgage suit Although actually, this is being touted as "the first civil fraud suit brought by the Department of Justice concerning mortgage loans sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac," directed at Countrywide/BofA. Touted by the DoJ, of course Technically, yes - but Preet Bharara, US attorney for the Southern District of New York, also filed a civil claim against Wells Fargo in October, accusing it of lying to the Federal Housing Administration about loan quality. This new suit is a smorgasboard of allegations that a "Hustle" loan origination programme at Countrywide removed controls on loan quality, that "there was widespread falsification" of data entered into an automated system for underwriting loans, and that the lender "knowingly originated loans with escalating levels of fraud and other serious defects and sold them to the GSEs" despite these problems. This all follows the FHFA's big case against 17 banks brought last year of course. But it's a possible $1bn headache for BofA. And it shows Preet Bharara isn't finished yet. Related link: Preet Bharara - Lunch with the FT