Bank of America plans to sell or close its correspondent-mortgage unit as CEO Brian Moynihan tries to halt losses on home loans, Bloomberg News reported.

“We intend to sell the correspondent-mortgage lending division or, if a suitable deal is not identified, we will consider other options,” including winding down the business, Dan Frahm, a company spokesperson, said.

The bank’s mortgage operations had $14.5 billion losses in the second quarter as investors insisted that the firm buy back soured loans. Shifting capital rules have also been pushing BofA to assume fewer new contracts to oversee outstanding debt, a key part of the correspondent mortgage business, Bloomberg said. [more]

Bank of America is simultaneously considering selling its real estate assets held by Merrill Lynch to Blackstone Group for $1 billion, and settling on a foreclosure agreement that would still allow New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to continue his ongoing probe into the bank’s foreclosure practices, according to two separate Bloomberg News reports.

The assets up for sale include properties in Europe, the U.S. and South America. The bank hired Blackstone to manage $2 billion worth of Merrill’s Asia real estate holdings, but it appears BofA will retain ownership of those investments.

The bank’s foreclosure agreement would pacify several state attorneys general investigating it among a larger group of mortgage servicers for allegedly using fake documents to pursue foreclosures. [more]