Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc could pay a fine to settle claims of misconduct in its handling of U.S. mortgage securities as early as this quarter, Bloomberg News reported today. The lender is bracing to settle Federal Housing Finance Agency accusations it sold faulty mortgage bonds to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from 2005 to 2007. RBS could pay a fine of as much as $8 billion, Chirantan Barua, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein Ltd., wrote in a note today. Chief Executive Officer Ross McEwan has seen a series of fines, such as for rigging currency markets, undermine his plan to return the 80 percent taxpayer-owned lender to private ownership. RBS and Nomura Holdings Inc. are last to settle among 18 banks sued by the FHFA to recoup taxpayer costs after the U.S. seized control of the mortgage-finance companies in 2008.
