Goldman Sachs to pay over $5bn for selling risky mortgages

Goldman Sachs agreed to pay 5.06 billion U.S. dollars to settle charges of selling toxic residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) that contributed to the 2008 financial crisis, the U.S. Justice Department said on Monday.

The settlement resolves federal and state claims toward Goldman's conduct in the packaging, securitization, marketing, sale and issuance of RMBS between 2005 and 2007, said the Justice Department.

Investors, including federally-insured financial institutions, suffered billions of dollars in losses from investing in these securities, said the Justice Department.

"This resolution holds Goldman Sachs accountable for its serious misconduct in falsely assuring investors that securities it sold were backed by sound mortgages, when it knew that they were full of mortgages that were likely to fail," said Acting Associate Attorney General Stuart F. Delery.

Goldman agreed to pay 2.385 billion dollars in a civil penalty, 1.8 billion dollars in relief to underwater homeowners, distressed borrowers and affected communities, in the form of loan forgiveness and financing for affordable housing, as well as 875 million dollars to resolve claims by other federal entities and state claims.