Morgan Stanley to pay $2.6B to settle charges over mortgages

NEW YORK (AP) — Morgan Stanley said Wednesday that it has agreed to pay $2.6 billion to settle with the federal government over its role in the mortgage bubble and subsequent financial crisis.

The settlement makes Morgan Stanley the latest Wall Street bank to reach a settlement with federal authorities, following the billions paid by JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup.

The $2.6 billion will go to “resolve certain claims” the Justice Department intended to bring against Morgan Stanley related to its mortgage division, the bank said in a regulatory filing.

Wall Street banks have paid tens of billions of dollars in the last two years to settle state and federal charges that they misrepresented the risk subprime mortgage bonds represented to investors.