Citi to pay $7 billion in Justice settlement

WASHINGTON — Citigroup has agreed to pay $7 billion as part of a landmark Justice Department settlement for its role in the sale of risky, mortgage-based securities in the run-up to the financial crisis, Attorney General Eric Holder announced Monday.

The agreement includes $4 billion which Holder said was a “record” civil penalty of its kind and “appropriate given the strength of the evidence of the wrongdoing committed by Citi.” The company will pay $500 million to state attorneys general and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The remaining $2.5 billion will go to help consumers struggling with mortgages and other problems from the 2007-2009 financial crisis.