<p><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aiwq7VkA9Yds&refer=home">Merrill to Pay $550 Million to Settle Subprime Mortgage Suits</a></p> <blockquote> <p>Jan. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Merrill Lynch & Co. will pay $550 million to settle claims by the Ohio State Teachers Retirement System and other shareholders that it misled investors about assets backed by subprime mortgages.<br /> <br /> Merrill, which was acquired by Bank of America Corp., will pay $475 million in cash to investors including the teachers union fund and $75 million in cash to settle claims by company employees who held stock in certain retirement plans, the company said yesterday in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Claims in the suits focused on subprime- related losses and related disclosures between September 2006 and December 2008.<br /> <br /> The company was accused of issuing false and misleading statements about collateralized debt obligations and other assets backed by subprime mortgages, artificially inflating Merrill Lynch’s shares, according to the complaints filed in federal court in Manhattan.</p> </blockquote> <p>Now take this settlement, which is limited to the Ohio Teachers Retirement System and extrapolate it to all of the sellers and buyers of subprime CDOs, including foreign banks. How much exposure do Goldman, MS and Citi have?</p>