Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse agree to pay billions in US fines

Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse have agreed to pay billion in fines relating to the collapse of the US housing market that contributed to the financial crisis, striking deals before the Trump administration takes power.
The government has accused the banks of misleading investors about the quality of their loans. The inquiries related to deals done between 2005 and 2007.

Deutsche Bank agreed to a $7.2 billion settlement with the DoJ over its sale and pooling of toxic mortgage securities.

Credit Suisse has also agreed to pay $5.28bn to resolve a DoJ probe of similar alleged actions. The Swiss bank has to pay US authorities $2.48 billion to settle claims it misled investors in residential mortgage-backed securities it sold in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis. It will also provide $2.8 billion in consumer relief over five years from the settlement, it said in a statement, adding that the deal was subject to negotiation of final documentation and approval by its board.

"Credit Suisse will take a pre-tax charge of approximately $2 billion in addition to its existing reserves against these matters. This will be taken in our Q4 2016 financial results," it added.

Deutsche said that any consequences of the consumer relief would not show up in Deutsche’s 2016 results. 

The department sued Barclays on Thursday over similar claims. It alleged that from 2005 to 2007, Barclays “repeatedly misrepresented the characteristics of the loans backing securities they sold to investors throughout the world, who incurred billions of dollars in losses”. Barclays denied any involvement.