RBS, property, spending and identity theft

Royal Bank of Scotland is to pay $1.1 billion (£846 million) to settle US lawsuits over claims it sold toxic mortgage securities to two American credit unions in the run-up to the financial crisis, according to The Telegraph. But the bank still faces almost 20 claims over its sale of mortgage-backed securities in the US, the largest of which are those brought by the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the US Department of Justice (DoJ). RBS investors were rattled earlier this month when the DoJ demanded a $14 billion settlement from Deutsche Bank, sparking fears the German lender will be crippled by the bill. Analysts estimate RBS could end up paying billions of dollars to settle the various suits. Property London has been replaced by Vancouver as having the frothiest property market of any major city in the world, The Telegraph reports. UBS’ Global Real Estate Bubble Index said London has the second most over-valued homes, and described it as being in ‘bubble-risk territory’.