Deutsche Bank has reached a final settlement with the U.S. Justice Department in the litigation involving mortgage-backed securities before 2008. The bank agreed to pay $7.2 billion and admitted to misleading investors, the Justice Department said. The penalty was in line with the bank’s 23 December announcement that it had reached an agreement in principle in the matter. It will pay a $3.1 billion civil penalty and provide $4.1 billion in relief to homeowners. The final settlement caps a negotiation process that had sent the company’s shares to a record low in September, when Deutsche Bank said the Justice Department had made an opening request of $14 billion to settle. The bank, under the terms of the agreement, agreed to hire a monitor to review its compliance with its pledge to provide consumer relief. The lender already has monitors reviewing its compliance with foreign exchange practices, U.S. sanctions laws and derivatives trading.
