RBS Fined $5.5b

Britain’s bailed-out Royal Bank of Scotland agreed to pay a US regulator $5.5 billion over its role in the subprime mortgage crisis more than a decade ago, AFP reported. The lender said in a statement that the penalty was a “heavy price” to settle US misselling claims, which occurred in the run-up to the notorious global financial crisis and subsequent worldwide recession. “The Royal Bank of Scotland... has reached a settlement with the Federal Housing Finance Agency,” the lender said in a statement, adding that FHFA “litigation against RBS will be withdrawn”. The net cost will be $4.75 billion due to special indemnity agreements.