More than two dozen investment banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. have agreed to pay $99 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that accused Global Crossing Ltd. and its bankers of falsifying financial records to hide massive losses.

The investment banks served as underwriters and financial advisors to Global Crossing, the former Los Angeles-based telecommunications company that wiped out $45 billion in shareholder equity before filing for bankruptcy in 2002.

Judge Gerard Lynch in Manhattan Federal Court approved the preliminary agreement that has so far netted $444 million to investors, according to plaintiffs’ attorney Jay Eisenhofer, at Grant & Eisenhofer in Wilmington, Del.

Former chairman and founder Gary Winnick put in $30 million as part of a $245 million settlement with former officers and directors. In the current round, Goldman Sachs agreed to pay $42 million, Merrill Lynch $19 million and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, $17 million. Other firms that paid smaller amounts included JP Morgan Chase & Co., Credit Suisse Group, Morgan Stanley, Bear Stearns Cos., Deutsche Bank AG, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and ABN Amro Holding NV.