Bank of America bids for lender

WASHINGTON -- A buyout of hobbled mortgage lender Countrywide Financial likely would be approved by regulators, analysts say, because otherwise the company could file for bankruptcy, injecting further uncertainty into the home-loan market. Bank of America Corp. is in talks to acquire Countrywide, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times reported Thursday online, citing unidentified people familiar with the potential deal. The transaction would put the country's largest mortgage lender in the hands of the largest U.S. bank by market capitalization.