The British bank HSBC will pay $550m (£338m) to US regulators to settle claims that it mis-sold mortgage-related bonds between 2005 - 2007 to US mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It is the 16th bank to reach an agreement with the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) over the issue. Royal Bank of Scotland and Nomura have yet to settle their cases. The lawsuit had accused HSBC of making $6.2b of mortgage-backed securities look like they met regulatory guidelines and standards, when they did not. HSBC has previously denied the allegations.
