Aug. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Bank of America Corp. agreed to pay almost $16.7 billion to end federal and state probes into mortgage bond sales, the harshest penalty yet related to loans that fueled the 2008 financial crisis.

The settlement, which includes $9.65 billion in cash and $7 billion in consumer relief, resolves civil investigations by government prosecutors, the U.S. said today.

“This constitutes the largest civil settlement with a single entity in history, addressing conduct uncovered in more than a dozen cases and investigations,” Attorney General Eric Holder said at a press conference today in Washington. “The size and scope of this multibillion-dollar agreement go far beyond the ‘cost of doing business.’”