Morning roundup: Arizona AG says Bank of America is hampering its investigation

Here's a look at what's news in banking and finance this morning:

• Arizona's attorney general's office says Bank of America is hampering its investigation into lending practices by requiring homeowners to agree not to criticize the company to get a mortgage modification, Bloomberg reports. The bank says that's not true.
• Fortune magazine calls Bank of America the "turnaround challenge of the century."
• Austerity is the buzzword among the world's bank executives at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Bloomberg says.
• In a year in which hedge funds lost an average of 5 percent, the world's largest one gained 23 percent. The New York Times discusses its strategy.
• Discover Financial says a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau probe into its marketing affected its profitability last quarter, Bloomberg reports.