Bank of America Corp. agreed yesterday to pay $315 million to settle claims by investors who said they were misled about mortgage securities offerings by its Merrill Lynch unit, Reuters reported.

 

The proposed settlement, which requires court approval, is one of the largest for investors claiming that banks misrepresented the quality of mortgage-backed securities they sold. It was filed late Monday night with the U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

 

The second-largest U.S. bank, Bank of America bought mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp. in July 2008 and Merrill Lynch six months later.

The Charlotte, N.C.-based lender did not admit wrongdoing in agreeing to the settlement. Investors led by the Public Employees’ Retirement System of Mississippi pension fund had sued over their purchases of so-called mortgage pass-through certificates in 18 securities offerings involving Merrill.

 

Investors contended that the offering documents that Merrill prepared contained false statements or omitted key details about the quality of the loans backing their investments.

Carolyn Helmlinger, who was once told that she didn’t “have what it takes” to make it in the Florida real estate business, will retire Dec. 31 as president and CEO of Mid-America Group, the real estate and investment firm founded by the late Marvin Pomerantz.

Helmlinger had evaluated Mid-America Group while working out of the national office in Chicago of Coldwell Banker. After the review, Pomerantz told her that if she knew so much about his company, she should move to Greater Des Moines and run it, Helmlinger said in an interview earlier this year with the Business Record.

She will be replaced by two men. Mid-America Group said in a news release that Steven Coleman has been named president of Mid-America Group Commercial Properties. He has been with the company since 1985. Randall Clarkson will be president of Coldwell Banker Mid-America Group Realtors. He has been with the company for more than 22 years.

Helmlinger, 61, was a school teacher in Florida looking for a career change in 1980 when she interviewed for a job in real estate and was told that she wasn’t cut out for the business. Nearly 20 years later, Pomerantz persuaded her to leave Chicago and lead the Mid-America Group’s Coldwell Banker arm.

That was in 1999. By 2008, she was leading the the company’s commercial and residential real estate divisions as president and CEO.

Among her attributes, she said, are an always positive attitude and an ability to execute, often on her co-workers’ ideas.

“That’s why you have talented people around you,” she said.

Mid-America Group’s signature development is Regency West Office Park at 50th Street and Westown Parkway in West Des Moines, where occupancy has grown to 94 percent from about 78 percent during the years Helmlinger has been at the helm. A fitness center is among the amenities that have been added for tenants at the sprawling office complex.

Mid-America Group severed its ties in recent years with the national commercial realty firm Grubb & Ellis Co. and focused on managing its commercial properties.

The company has survived tough economic times by “persevering, staying positive and supporting our people,” Helmlinger said.

“Instead of dwelling on the negative, we’ve tried to focus on the positive,” she said. “I don’t know if there ever has been a better time to be in the business. I haven’t seen it in 30 years.”

The opportunity to work with Pomerantz has been the highlight of her career.

“He had a unique way of making you feel you were the most important person in the room or in his office at any given time. He was very good at that, and I miss him terribly. Having him give me the opportunity to do this job –  I will treasure that,” she said.

Helmlinger will remain with the company in an advisory role until April 2012, traveling between Iowa and Michigan, where she will be near children and grandchildren. She has no immediate plans to launch another career.

“I wasn’t looking for a job when I got this one,” she said. “You never know.”