UBS has settled a pending probe into mortgage securities in the U.S. The much bigger deal however has yet to be closed.
The judicial cleanup after the breaking down of the U.S. real estate market ten years ago has yet to be concluded. UBS has agreed to pay $230 million in a settlement with New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, according to a report by «Reuters».
Schneiderman had accused the Swiss bank of having misled and hurt investors by selling subprime mortgage securities, the newswire said.
UBS will pay about $190 million to New York homeowners and communities and $41 million to the state of New York.
More to Come
The agreement will however only put an end to one concern of the bank in the U.S. The much larger legal tussle with the U.S. department of justice in connection with the mortgage-backed securities is pending still.
The latter may yet turn out to be much more expensive. Credit Suisse, UBS’ major Swiss rival, had to fork out $2.5 billion in 2016 and Deutsche Bank $3.1 billion. It has yet to be seen whether UBS will go to court instead, as the U.K.’s Barclays bank wants to do.
