From the Yahoo News article:

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) said on Wednesday it would invest $2 billion in Countrywide Financial Corp (CFC.N), helping shore up the finances at the largest U.S. mortgage lender, which has struggled with a liquidity crunch this month.

This $2 billion comes after a previous $11.5 billion line of credit that Countrywide received to continue to business with a few days ago. The investment is the purchase of Countrywide preferred (non-voting) stock that can later be sold for $18/share.

After hours trading of Countrywide caused the share price to increase 14%, much to investor’s glee.

By investing in Countrywide, a mortgage competitor, Bank of America is trying to send a message to the market that it plans on working to stabilize the Subprime meltdown issue and to try to lift investors’ perceptions about the market as a whole. If the plan works, investors will be relieved by the confidence Bank of America is showing in Countrywide and the anxiety levels over subprime mortgages will be alleviated somewhat.