NEW YORK - Bank of America (BOA) announced Monday to sell roughly 13.1 billion common shares of China Construction Bank Corporation (CCB) to generate approximately $8.3 billion.

The sale accounted for about half of BOA's current hold of CCB's shares.

In a statement released on Monday, the US largest bank by assets said the transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2011. After the transaction, BOA will hold approximately 5 percent of CCB.

According to Bruce Thompson, the Chief Financial Officer of BOA, the transaction will put Bank of America's ownership in CCB below 10 percent to meet the current proposed Basel III standards which place restrictions on capital that represents ownership in financial institutions above 10 percent.

BOA did not indicate specific names of the buyers, but instead by saying "a group of investors."

"Our partnership with China Construction Bank has been mutually beneficial," said Bank of America Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan. Bank of America and China Construction Bank are discussing a potential cooperation in expansion and extension of the existing strategic assistance agreement.