(Bloomberg) — MetLife Inc., the largest U.S. life insurer, agreed to pay $123.5 million to resolve a U.S. probe into shoddy loans at a discontinued mortgage unit.
The operation originated loans that were insured by the Federal Housing Administration, even though they failed to meet government standards, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement Wednesday.
"MetLife Bank took advantage of the FHA insurance program by knowingly turning a blind eye to mortgage loans that did not meet basic underwriting requirements, and stuck the FHA and taxpayers with the bill when those mortgages defaulted," U.S. Attorney John Walsh of the District of Colorado said in the statement.
