NEW YORK, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- Bank of America Friday said it was buying Countrywide Financial, the largest mortgage lender in the United States, in a 4-billion-dollar deal to rescue it from near-bankruptcy in the housing crisis.

    The acquisition will make Bank of America, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, the nation's biggest mortgage lender and loan servicer.

    The buyout came less than five months after Bank of America plugged 2 billion dollars in Countrywide Financial Corp. in the culmination of the summer global credit crisis.

    The agreement has been reportedly approved by both companies' boards and is subject to approval by regulatory bodies and Countrywide's shareholders.

    Countrywide, which has been the subject of bankruptcy rumors for several months, "will benefit from the stability of being part of the largest and one of the most financially strong financial institutions in the United States," Bank of America said in a statement.

    Countrywide shares have plunged 57 percent since Bank of America made its 2-billion-dollar deal in August at 18 dollars per share.

    The bank expects the transaction to be finalized in the third quarter and forecast the combined company would have after-tax synergy savings of 670 million dollars.