Bank of America is expected to pay nearly $17 billion to settle US Department of Justice accusations it packaged shoddy mortgages into securities and sold them to investors in the run-up to the financial crisis, according to a person familiar with the negotiations.

The agreement, which could come as early as Thursday, would mark the biggest settlement between the US government and a single company. The roughly $17 billion will be a combination of cash and consumer aid - an amount approximately equal to the bank's profit for the past three years.