(CHARLOTTE) -- Bank of America Corporation has reached a $8.5 billion settlement agreement to resolve claims associated with some legacy Countrywide-issued first-lien residential mortgages. The claims allege that BofA and Countrywide sold poor-quality mortgage-backed securities that went sour when the housing market collapsed.

The agreement is with 530 trusts.  Court approval is still necessary.

“This is another important step we are taking in the interest of our shareholders to minimize the impact of future economic uncertainty and put legacy issues behind us,” said Bank of America Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan. “We will continue to act aggressively, and in the best interest of our shareholders, to clean up the mortgage issues largely stemming from our purchase of Countrywide.”

As a result of the settlement, and other mortgage-related matters, Bank of America expects to report a net loss in the range of $8.6 billion to $9.1 billion in the second quarter of 2011, or $0.88 to $0.93 per diluted share.