Feds sue big banks over sales of risky investments

Big Bank

The government on Friday sued 17 financial firms, as well as the largest U.S. banks, for selling Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac billions of dollars appeal of mortgage-backed securities that turned toxic when the housing market collapsed.

Among those targeted with the lawsuits were Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., JP Morgan Chase & Co., and Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Large European banks as well as The Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays Bank and Credit Suisse were also sued.

The lawsuits were filed by the Federal Housing Finance Agency it oversees Fannie and Freddie, the two agencies so as to buy mortgages loans and mortgage securities issued by the lenders, The total price tag for the mortgage-backed securities sold to Fannie and Freddie through the firms named in the lawsuits: $196 billion.

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