Countrywide Financial and KPMG LLP have agreed to settle the securities class action against them by paying a combined $624 million. Bloomberg reports that Countrywide has agreed to pay $600 million while KPMG would pay $24 million.
New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli announced the tentative settlements, which still require court approval, today. Pensions covering state and New York City workers were lead plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
Paintiffs in the case alleged that Countrywide exposed investors to “excessive, undisclosed risk” and of “misstatements and omitting material facts about its policies and procedures” for lending.
According to the most recent “SCAS Top 100 Settlements Report,” the $624 million settlement would be the 13th-largest securities class action settlement since the passage of the Private Securities Litigation Act in 1995.
