On Feb. 19, RBS officials announced that the company had reached a $275 million settlement with the U.S. government to resolve allegations of misleading investors in mortgage-backed securities. The settlement is the third-largest settlement in the U.S. class action against banks packaged and sold mortgage securities .

This case was originally filed in 2008 by New Jersey Carpenters Health Fund and the Boilermaker Blacksmith Pension Trust. The suit accused RBS and others of violating U.S. securities law by packaging and selling an estimated $25.39 billion of securities in 14 separate offerings to linked to the Harborview Mortgage Loan Trusts. These mortgage loans did not meet underwriting guidelines, a fact the suit says RBS concealed. The loans later sank to junk status .

This settlement is just a drop in the bucket compared to the estimated losses suffered by investors. As more and more of these settlements take place it is important that investors take actions to protect their legal rights in these sorts of cases.

If you or someone you know has lost money as a result of an investment, please contact Richard Frankowski at 888-741-7503 to discuss your potential legal remedies.