Credit Suisse Settles Mortgage Litigation for $885 Million

By John Letzing 

ZURICH-- Credit Suisse Group AG has agreed to pay $885 million to settle allegations by the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency that the Swiss bank misrepresented mortgage-backed securities sold in the lead-up to the financial crisis.

Zurich-based Credit Suisse said that because the settlement agreement was reached before it filed financial results for last year, it will take a related charge of 275 million francs ($312 million) for 2013. Accounting for the charge, the bank now is reporting a net loss of eight million francs for the fourth quarter of last year. Credit Suisse previously reported a profit of 267 million francs for the period.

The FHFA, the regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, said in a statement that the settlement with Credit Suisse resolves all claims alleging the violation of securities laws in connection with the sale of mortgage-backed securities to the government-controlled mortgage finance companies.

The FHFA has sued a number of banks for allegedly misrepresenting mortgage-backed securities sold in the years before the financial crisis. Credit Suisse said Friday its settlement covers claims relating to the sale of about $16.6 billion in residential mortgage-backed securities between 2005 and 2007.

A number of other banks, including Credit Suisse rival UBS AG, previously announced settlements with the FHFA. UBS said last July that its settlement contributed to the bank taking a pretax charge of about $744 million.

Write to John Letzing at [e-mail]

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