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30 ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER SETTLEMENT: GOLDMAN SACHS TO PAY $5B Investment banking firm Goldman Sachs followed up on an announcement made earlier this year, stating that it has agreed to settle federal and state investigation probes concerning the sale of toxic residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) in the time leading up to the financial crisis. Goldman Sachs has agreed to pay a $5.06 billion settlement in regard to its "conduct in the packaging, securitization, marketing, sale, and issuance of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) between 2005 and 2007," according to an announcement from the U.S. Department of Justice. Michael DuVally, a spokesman for Goldman Sachs told DS News, "We are pleased to put these legacy matters behind us. Since the financial crisis, we have taken significant steps to strengthen our culture, reinforce our commitment to our clients, and ensure our governance processes are robust." In January, Goldman Sachs first stated that it has come to an agreement in principle to resolve the investigation of the Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Working Group of the U.S. Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (RMBS Working Group). According to the DOJ, the agreement will resolve real claims and any allegations by the U.S. Department of Justice, the New York and Illinois Attorneys General, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), and the Federal Home Loan Banks of Chicago and Seattle, relating to the firm's securitization, underwriting, and sale of residential mortgage- backed securities from 2005 to 2007. "We are pleased to put these legacy matters behind us. Since the financial crisis, we have taken significant steps to strengthen our culture, reinforce our commitment to our clients, and ensure our governance processes are robust," DuVally said. According to the Justice Department, Goldman Sachs is required to pay $2.385 billion in a civil penalty under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act (FIRREA). In addition, the investment firm will provide $1.8 billion toward loan forgiveness and financing for affordable housing, which includes relief to underwater homeowners, distressed borrowers, and affected communities. Goldman will also pay $875 million to resolve claims by other federal entities and state claims, in which $575 million will go to the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). "is resolution holds Goldman Sachs accountable for its serious misconduct in falsely assuring investors that securities it sold were backed by sound mortgages, when it knew that they were full of mortgages that were likely to fail," said Acting Associate Attorney General Stuart F. Delery. "is $5 billion settlement includes a $1.8 billion commitment to help repair the damage to homeowners and communities that Goldman acknowledges resulted from its conduct, and it makes clear that no institution may inflict this type of harm on investors and the American public without serious consequences." Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, Head of the Justice Department's Civil Division added, "Today's settlement is another example of the department's resolve to hold accountable those whose illegal conduct resulted in the financial crisis of 2008. Viewed in conjunction with the previous multibillion-dollar recoveries that the