Bank of America on Tuesday completed a $2.5 billion acquisition of Countrywide Financial Corp., a day after the state of Florida sued the nation's largest mortgage lender for allegedly making loans to consumers who couldn't afford them.

The second-largest U.S. bank by assets said Countrywide shareholders received .1822 of a share of Bank of America stock for each share they held of the lender.

The bank, which is among the market leaders in South Florida, agreed in January to buy Countrywide for $4 billion in stock but has lost half its market value in the past year. It dropped 17 percent in the past two weeks on falling home prices and reports of other lawsuits against Countrywide of Calabasas, Calif.

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum added to those suits by filing a complaint late Monday in state court in Fort Lauderdale. He said Countrywide pushed so-called subprime mortgages on borrowers who couldn't afford the higher interest rates.

" knew very well these people didn't qualify," he said Tuesday in Tallahassee. "We believe Countrywide took steps they shouldn't have ... to allow people to own property that they could not reasonably be expected to have made payments on."

The suit also alleges that Countrywide sold these loans to customers who would have qualified for "prime" loans with better terms. What's more, McCollum said in the lawsuit that the lender deceived borrowers about the terms of their mortgages and offered bonuses to underwriters who approved "as many loans as possible, regardless of credit risk."

The attorney general received more than 100 complaints from consumers in Florida. One was from Daniel Karras, 28, of Deerfield Beach, who said Countrywide is misleading him as he tries to negotiate a loan modification.

Karras said Countrywide told him last year that he could save $400 a month on his interest-only loan, but the paperwork he later received indicated his payments would increase by $200 a month. He said he has yet to get a straight answer from the lender.

"They keep saying, 'Yeah, yeah, we'll fix it,' but they never do," Karras said. "To see that someone is trying to do something about this definitely makes me feel good."

California and Illinois also have filed similar suits against Countrywide.

"We are not going to comment on the specifics of the lawsuit, except to say that we are fully cooperating with the office of the Florida attorney general," Countrywide said in a statement.

Charlotte-based Bank of America says it has stopped issuing subprime home loans.

The Florida suit was filed in Fort Lauderdale because the state's South Florida economic crimes division headed the investigation.

To lodge a consumer complaint against Countrywide, call the Attorney General's fraud hotline at 866-966-7226 or go to http://myfloridalegal .com.
Bloomberg News and other wire services were used to supplement this report.