The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Bank of America is making a $2 billion equity investment into troubled mortgage giant Countrywide Financial:

Bank of America will purchase $2 billion worth of preferred Countrywide stock yielding 7.25%, and that can be converted into common stock at $18 a share, those people said.

Remember when rumors were flying earlier in the year that BofA was going to buy Countrywide? Something tells me the purchase price just got a whole lot cheaper. Update: Countrywide has since confirmed the investment, characterizing the investment as a “vote of confidence.”