Ratings agency Standard and Poor's has estimated that the largest banks in the US may need to pay out an extra US$55 to around 105 billion dollars relating to the mis-selling of mortgage-backed securities. JP Morgan has already agreed a $13b payment, and Bank of America is in discussions over an estimated $8.5b. But Stuart Plesser, a credit analyst at S&P said in a statement: 'We estimate that the largest banks may need to pay out an additional $55 billion to $105 billion to settle mortgage-related issues'. However, the ratings agency believes that the banks involved can withstand the financial pressure. He continued: 'We already incorporate heightened legal issues into our ratings, and we currently don't expect legal settlements to result in negative rating actions for U.S. banks.' Source: Here is the City.