Both J.P. Morgan Chase and Citigroup managed to play down the foreclosure debacle during recent earnings reports. Bank of America can't afford to do the same when it reports third-quarter results Tuesday.

Bank of America has been at the center of the mortgage storm since it halted foreclosures earlier this month in all 50 states because of faulty affidavits. It has the largest mortgage-servicing arm among big banks and also could be on the hook for problems with loans originated by Countrywide Financial, which it bought in...