Missoula     Accurate reports seem to indicate that the Justice Department is in the final drafting of a record setting, highest corporate penalty ever paid with Bank of America for mortgage related abuses. The price tag is going to be slightly north of $16 billion with $9 billion going to the government by way of a fine and $7 billion being some modest relief for some of the homeowners caught in the misdeeds.

At one level part of me says, hah, got the bastards finally! The Justice Department had hard bargained Bank of America to almost its original demand. Bank of America had been trying to organize a pity party for itself claiming that they had done the government and the rest of us big favors by picking up Countrywide and Merrill-Lynch so they should be in line for an attaboy rather than billions in fines, so that bubble was finally burst.

But, closer reading still gives me buyers’ remorse on closing the deal with Bank of America.

First, there are few of us that don’t realize that the “soft” $7 billion part of the settlement is as much accounting tricks helping Bank of America’s own balance sheet as it is real relief for the homeowners who faced – and continue to face – foreclosure. There’s still not much relief in store for them as these chapters close and everyone else moves forward, while family’s hopes and homes are both in tatters.

Secondly, it turns out that Judge Jed Rakoff, a Manhattan federal judge, is once again a hero to those of us who would like real justice from Wall Street. According the Times his recent decision for 17000 home owners awarding a $1.2 billion against Bank of America punctured the last of their lawyers’ lame rationales, and brought them within 24 hours to a deal with Justice that had been slipping away.

And, here’s the hurting part about this. Even with a record settlement it seems there is also the likelihood that many more multiples of billions may have been left on the table!

The bank’s top attorneys and executives, who made the ill-fated decision to fight that case in Judge Rakoff’s court rather than settle, appeared to recognize that another courtroom battle would not only be futile but extremely expensive, according to two of the people briefed on the matter. The remaining cases, which by contrast would involve billions of dollars in securities backed by home loans, could have cost the bank multiples more than Judge Rakoff’s penalty, perhaps even more than a settlement with the Justice Department.

Let’s just face it. There’s never going to be a way or a day that this will all feel good.

Banks and Wall Street got over. They’re paying to play now essentially, but the victims are not going to ever be made whole and none of us are ever going to feel happy about any of this at this point.