Citigroup, Lawsuit | featured news

Citigroup said on Wednesday that it had agreed to pay $590 million to settle a class action lawsuit brought by shareholders who contended that they had been misled about the bank’s exposure to subprime mortgage debt on the eve of the financial crisis.

Federal regulators charged a Citigroup unit with negligence Wednesday, saying it misled investors about an investment product it used to bet against them as the housing market deteriorated. Citigroup agreed to pay a settlement of $285 million, which will be distributed to investors, the Securities and Exchange Commission said.

An arbitration panel ordered Citigroup Inc to pay a group of investors $54.1 million for losses from municipal securities funds that cratered between 2007 and 2008, the biggest award yet involving the funds in a long series of legal claims against the bank.

Wells Fargo agreed to pay $100 million to Citigroup to settle all claims related to its $15-billion deal to acquire Wachovia in the midst of the financial crisis.

A group of investors in bankrupt Tribune Co sued JPMorgan, Merrill Lynch, Citicorp and Bank of America, claiming the banks arranged $3.7 billion in loans in 2007 they knew the company could never repay.