B of A Sells $880M Commercial Real-Estate Portfolio

""Bank of America"":https://www.bankofamerica.com/ green-lighted another restructuring move Friday, with news breaking that the mortgage giant signed off on an $880-million selloff in commercial real-estate loans. Multiple news reports held that the portfolio, worth about $1 billion to a cluster of investors, will benefit from a bevy of discounts.

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""_Reuters_"":http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/22/bankofamerica-loansale-idUSS1E78L1XZ20110922 quoted anonymous sources alleging the portfolio will sell on the market at discounts that range from 20 percent to 25 percent, and which will apply to loans in every category, even performing loans ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô something the news service said signals Bank of America's desire to wipe its hands of a $44-billion commercial real-estate portfolio.

Who benefits? According to the news service, a venture created by ""Canyon Capital Realty Advisors LLC"":http://www.cc-ra.com/, ""Invesco Ltd"":http://www.invesco.com/portal/site/global, and ""Square Mile Capital Management LLC"":http://www.squaremilecapital.com/ will sop up the mega-size portfolio.

Jefferson George, a spokesperson for Bank of America, declined to comment for the story.

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Revealing the intense secrecy of the deal, Canyon, Invesco, and Square Mile remained mum on the matter, with spokespeople for the latter two and a public relations firm for the former failing to return requests for comment Friday.

By dividing and conquering the portfolio, the investors will reap benefits from some 32 office properties, senior housing facilities, and warehouses across 15 states, according to _Reuters_.

News of the selloff arrives during a blustery period in Bank of America's history, which finds the embattled mortgage giant sloughing off assets, capital, and personnel to stave off liquidity and litigation threats.

The company persists in fending off suits from state attorneys general, fellow mortgage lenders, even federal agencies, which lay claim to repurchases and compensation over faulty mortgage-backed securities.

Bank of America assumed liability for a host of bad loans when it purchased Countrywide Financial Corp. at the height of the crisis.

Among other problem areas, Bank of America finds itself with 16 other defendants in a ""barrage of litigation"":https://themreport.com/articles/fhfa-may-sue-mortgage-giants-over-mbs-losses-2011-09-02 brought against it by the ""Federal Housing Finance Agency"":http://www.fhfa.gov/, which seeks to recoup losses for ""Fannie Mae"":http://www.fanniemae.com/kb/index?page=home and ""Freddie Mac"":http://www.freddiemac.com/.

On Wednesday ""Moody's Investors Service"":http://www.moodys.com/ added to Bank of America's woes by ""downgrading credit ratings"":https://themreport.com/articles/dodd-frank-cheered-jeered-as-moodys-downgrades-big-banks-2011-09-21 for its short- and long-term debt.

The company recently announced 30,000 layoffs nationally, according to ""ABC News"":http://abcnews.go.com/Business/bank-america-layoff-30000-workers/story?id=14500577, with more likely to follow.