Bank of America’s (NYSE:BAC) $8.5 billion mortgage backed securities settlement is being reviewed by a United States appeals court, and as of right now is considering sending it back to a New York state court for approval. Some institutional investors want the case to stay in federal court where it will be easier to negotiate higher payouts. A ruling is expected within 60 days.

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BNY Mellon (NYSE:BK) tried to contain fallout from a fast-growing government probe into whether BNY overcharged clients on currency trades. The Wall Street Journal was able to obtain internal documents that highlighted just how panicked the bank was about the probe.

NYSE Euronext (NYSE:NYX) and Deutsche Börse (DBOEY.PK) extended the deadline on their $9 billion merger to March 31. The extension is in light of their attempts to get European regulators on board.

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Citigroup (NYSE:C) ends its 92-year presence in Belgium. The sale of its Belgian retail operations to French lender Credit Mutuel Nord Europe for an undisclosed price signifies the end. The sale is part of Citi’s strategy to pare non-core assets after the bank required more government support than many other financial institutions during the financial crisis.

Visa (NYSE:V) set aside over $1.5 billion in a litigation escrow account. JPMorgan analyst Tien-tsin Huang sees this as a potential signal that the firm plans to settle a seven-year legal battle waged by retailers against credit card companies and banks over price-fixing. Analysts and accounting professors are still scratching their heads over the affect the move will have on Visa’s EPS with both earnings and its complicated-to-compute share total changing.

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Hundreds of billions of dollars worth of deposits in accounts across the globe could be affected by new U.S. regulations aimed at reducing tax evasion. Banks (NYSEARCA:KBE) are bracing for the new regulations and in response, some banks overseas are alerting customers their accounts will be closed, while U.S. banks are lobbying for changes to some of the proposals.

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Pinnacle Financial Partners (NASDAQ:PNFP) decides to redeem 25% of the preferred shares the firm issued to Uncle Sam under the Troubled Asset Relief Program. The total will amount to $23.9 million. The bank holding company says that it expects to receive approval for the redemption of its balance of TARP preferred shares over the next year or so.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) is smart to sell its depository business to General Electric, Sandler O’Neill’s Ed Shields writes. Metlife is now considered a bank holding company; however selling its deposits should allow it to change its classification. State insurance commissioners rather than the federal government, which Shields says could unlock a range of new opportunities, would then regulate it.

HSBC (NYSE:HBC) says it has renewed its private label credit card agreement with Saks (NYSE:SKS), Darvin Furniture, Big Lots (NYSE:BIG) and Berkshire Hathaway’s (BRK.A) Jordan’s Furniture. Good news for Capital One (NYSE:COF), which is buying the bank’s U.S. card business and runs the risk of losing some of its partners.

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Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) are in the lead in Facebook’s expected initial public offering for 2012 with regard to the I-banking role. Hundreds of millions of dollars in potential fees, as well as bragging rights are at stake.

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Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) looks set to be the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s biggest loser of the year, heading into the last trading day of 2011. Down 59% year-to-date, the bank has been beset by mortgage losses, new regulations, lack of confidence in management and the broader economic slowdown. On opposite ends of the spectrum, the DJIA is up 6.1% year-to-date while the KBW Bank Index is down 24%.

Banco Bradesco (NYSE:BBD), Brazil’s third-biggest bank, reportedly gives up buying the Brazilian consumer finance unit of HSBC Holdings (NYSE:HBC) after offering $322 million. Its offer was too low. As well, the two lenders didn’t agree on who should assume the risk of paying labor penalties, says a Brazilian newspaper.

JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) and Ally Financial (ALLY) are being sued. German lender HSH Nordbank AG is the offender of the two over losses on about $293 million in mortgage bonds.

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