Goldman Sachs concluded a $5.06 billion settlement on April 11 due to federal charges of deceptive mortgage policies leading up to the 2008 financial crisis. As part of the deal with the Justice Department, Goldman recognized that it had lied about “significant percentages” of the mortgages it packaged in securities and sold between 2005 and 2007.
Despite knowing that many of the home loans that made up mortgage-backed securities were in danger of failing, Goldman continued to approve every residential mortgage-backed security it issued. When these mortgages defaulted, the securities became worthless.
