This is not a good sign. The media discussion of Bank of America's (NYSE: BAC) foreclosure fiasco options now include a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing for Countrywide, which it acquired in 2008.

It's still hard fathom what a mortgage leviathan Bank of America became thanks to the deal. At the peak of bubble, Countrywide accounted for one of every six mortgage loans. After the deal, Bank of America accounted for one of every four. The bank will obviously bear the brunt of any forced put back wave. One way around this is bankruptcy court.

CNBC notes that financial analyst Mike Mayo has raised this prospect in a memo to clients. He argued that "most" of the bank's "mortgage problems stem back to [its] acquisition of Countrywide, which originated 86 percent of [its] mortgage loans that are 60-plus days behind on payments."

He reckons that Bank of America's $20 billion in evaporated market capitalization since it said it would halt foreclosure proceedings in all 50 states "seems in excess" of what it paid for Countrywide. This likely will not happen. But we can never say never until we get a grip on what the ultimate costs will be. That's still very fuzzy.

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